SOME  DETAILS 


WATER-WORKS  CONSTRUCTION. 


MW* 


REESE    LIBRARY 

OF  THE  "   ; 

UNIVERSITY   OF  CALIFORNIA 

Received  „_ 

/ 

Accessions  No..^.^.^..^f  Shelf  No.:. 


SOME  DETAILS 


OF 


Water-Works  Construction. 


BY 

WILLIAM    R.    BILLINGS, 
i « 

Superintendent  of  Water- Works  at  Taunton,   Mass. 
(From  1879  to  1888.) 

WITH 

ILLUSTRATIONS    FROM   SKETCHES  BY    THE    AUTHOR. 


SECOND    EDITION, 


NEW  YORK  : 
THE    ENGINEERING  &   BUILDING    RECORD. 

1889. 


Copyright,  1888, 
BY  THE  ENGINEERING  AND  BUILDING  RECORD. 


THB  ENGINEERING  AND  BUILDING  RECORD  PRESS, 
NEW  YORK. 


INTRODUCTORY    NOTE. 


OOME  questions  addressed  to  the  Editor  of  THE  ENGI- 
NEERING AND  BUILDING  RECORD  AND  THE  SANITARY 
ENGINEER  by  persons  in  the  employ  of  new  water- 
works indicated  that  a  short  series  of  practical  articles 
on  the  Details  of  Constructing  a  Water- Works  Plant 
would  be  of  value ;  and,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Editor, 
the  preparation  of  these  papers  was  undertaken  for  the 
columns  of  that  journal.  The  task  has  been  an  easy 
and  agreeable  one,  and  now,  in  a  more  convenient  form 
than  is  afforded  by  the  columns  of  the  paper,  these 
notes  of  actual  experience  are  offered  to  the  water-works 
fraternity,  with  the  belief  that  they  may  be  of  assistance 
to  beginners  and  of  some  interest  to  all. 


TABLE    OF   CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PACK. 

Materials  for  Main  Pipes — Method  of  Lining  with  Cement 
— Tool-Box — Derrick — Tools  —  Transportation  —  Distributing 
Pipe. . 9-24 

CHAPTER  II. 

Fieid  Work — Pipe  Plans — Laying  Out  a  Line — Time  Keep- 
ing— Tunneling — Sheet-Piling 2«,-36 

CHAPTER  III. 

Trenching  and  Pipe  -  Laying — Caving — Bell  -  Holes — Rock 
Work — Laying  Cast-Iron  Pipe— Derrick  Gang — Cutting  Pipe.  37-45 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Laying  Cement-Lined  Pipe — Joint-Making  on  Iron  Pipe — 
Strength  of  Joints — Quantity  of  Lead 46-56 

CHAPTER  V. 

Hydrants — Gates — Specials — Field  Notes — Back-  Filling — 
Pulling  Sheet- Piling— Filling  Pipes 47-66 


vi  TABLE   OF    CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

PAGE 

Service  -  Pipes  —  Materials — Tapping  Mains— Corporation 
Cocks 67-73 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Wiped-Joint  and  Cup-Joint — Air-Pump  and  Blow-Pipe— 
Weight  of  Lead  Pipe — Tapping  Wrought-Iron  Mains — Service- 
Boxes — Meters 74-8 1 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Notes  on  Two  Miles  of  i6-Inch  Main — Items  of  Cost — Tem- 
porary Supply — Cost  of  Line 82-89 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Table  of  Weights  and  Dimensions  of  Cast-Iron  Pipe — Pipe- 
Joints—Tables  of  Cost — Handling  Water — Close  Sheeting — 
Egg-Shaped  Conduits — Circular  Conduits 90-96 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


FIGURE  i. — Lining  Cone 12 

2.— Tool-Box... 14 

"        3. — Derrick 15 

"        4. — Carrying  Stick ib 

"        5. — Tamps 17 

6.— Cutting-off  Tool 18 

"         7. — Yarning  and  Calking  Tools 19 

8. — Calking  Hammer 20 

9.— Lead  Kettle 21 

"      io.— Pipe  Plans «7 

14      II.— Pipe  Plans 29 

"      12. — Time  Book 32 

"      13.— Sheet  Piling 35 

"      14. — Feathers  and  Wedges 39 

"      15. — Bell  and  Spigot  Joint 48 

' '      16. — Clamp-Jack 52 

"      17. — Thread  Diagram •  •  54 

"      18.— Main-Pipe  Plug 60 

"      ig. — Main-Pipe  Sleeve 61 

"      20. — Sheet-Piling  Lever 63 

"      21. — Tool  Wagon 6; 

"      22. — Various  Joints  and  Corporation  Cock 70 

"      23. — Air-Pump  and  Blow-Pipe 76 

•'      24. — Tapping  Machine 78 

•  •      25.— Meter  Well 80 

"      26. — Plan  and  Profile  of  Pipe  Line 85 

"      27. — Temporary  Supply   88 

"      28. — Section  of  Pipe-Joint qr 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE    DISTRIBUTING    SYSTEM. 

Materials  —  Salt-Glazed  Clay  —  Cast  Iron  —  Cement* Lined 
Wrought-Iron — Thickness  of  Sheet  Metal — Methods  of 
Lining  —  List  of  Tools  —  Tool- Box  —  Derrick  —  Calking 
Tools — Furnace —  Transportation — Handling  Pipe — Cost  of 
Carting — Distributing  Pipe. 

T  N  considering  the  subject  of  which  this  book  treats,  it  will 

be  the  writer's  endeavor  to  be  brief  and  practical. 
He  assumes  that  those  for  whom  these  papers  will  have  the 
most  interest  have  had  little  or  no  experience  in  actual  con- 
struction, and   desire   information   and   suggestion  upon  the 
simplest  details. 

MAIN    PIPES. 

Materials. — Cast  iron,  wrought  iron  with  cement  or  with  a 
protecting  coating  by  some  special  process,  wood,  and  steel 
are  the  materials  used  in  making  pipes  for  the  distributing 
systems  of  town  and  city  water-supplies. 

Salt-glazed  vitrified  clay  pipes  have  been  used  by  Mr. 
Stephen  E.  Babcock,  C.  E.,  of  Little  Falls,  N.  Y.,  in  that 
village,  and  also  at  Amsterdam  and  Johnstown  in  the  same 


io  MAIN     PIPES. 

State,  for  conduits  in  gravity  systems.  At  Little  Falls  the 
conduit  is  over  30,000  feet  in  length  and  is  mainly  of  18  and 
20  inch  pipe.  The  low  first  cost  of  clay  pipe  would  certainly 
entitle  its  claims  to  careful  investigation  in  planning  a  low- 
pressure  gravity  system  of  supply.  Mr.  Babcock  has  prepared 
a  very  elaborate  set  of  specifications  for  furnishing  and  laying 
this  pipe,  which  would  be  of  value  to  any  one  who  wished  to 
use  it. 

The  writer  frankly  acknowledges  a  preference  for  cast-iron 
pipe  for  all  but  special  cases.  He  is  not  unmindful  of  the  fact 
that  the  town  of  Plymouth,  Mass.,  after  an  experience  of  thirty 
years,  is  this  summer  (1887)  extending  its  distributing  system 
by  adding  20,000  feet  of  4  to  16  inch  cement-lined  wrought- 
iron  pipe  ;  nor  that  the  town  of  Dedham,  Mass.,  has  had  no 
reason  thus  far  to  regret  that  its  water-mains  are  of  this 
material.  Without  going  further,  the  cities  of  Fitchburg  and 
Worcester,  Mass.,  seem  to  offer  experience  with  this  sort  of 
pipe  to  justify  the  opinion  that  the  chances  for  poor  work  and 
poor  material  are  greater  with  it  than  with  cast  iron,  and  the 
advocates  of  cement-lined  pipe  admit,  I  think,  that  honest  and 
skillful  work  is  indispensable  to  the  success  of  this  method. 
We  must  admit  that  when  made  and  laid  upon  honor,  cement- 
lined  pipe  has  an  advantage  over  cast  iron  in  not  reducing  its 
original  diameter  by  incrustations,  nor  is  the  "  advantage  out ' 
when  we  reply  that  the  cleaning  machine  of  Mr.  Keating  or 
of  Mr.  Sweeney  may  be  used  to  restore  tuberculated  iron  pipe 
to  its  original  diameter,  for  the  application  of  these  machines 
cannot  be  effected  without  expense. 

With  its  acknowledged  advantages  of  strength  and  ease  in 
laying,  cast-iron  pipe  is  heavy  and,  in  its  larger  sizes,  expensive 


MAIN     PIPES.  ii 

to  handle.  This  limits  the  length  in  which  sections  of  it  can 
be  used,  arid  so  does  not  permit  of  any  reduction  in  the 
number  of  joints  to  the  mile. 

In  the  effort  to  produce  something  which  should  be  free 
from  these  disadvantages  of  cast-iron  pipe,  wrought-iron  pipe 
treated  by  a  protective  process  is  now  upon  the  market,  and 
has  been  introduced  to  a  limited  extent.  Of  this  it  is  fair  to 
say  that  it  is  still  on  trial,  and  some  time  must  yet  elapse  before 
its  durability  can  be  said  to  be  proven. 

Of  wood,  the  writer  has  no  knowledge  by  actual  experi- 
ence, but  its  use  seems  to  be  limited  to  a  small  territory  in  the 
West. 

Unlike  cast-iron  pipe,  which  is  bought  ready  for  use, 
cement-lined  pipe  is  put  together  in  part  at  some  convenient 
yard  or  shop  in  the  town  which  is  to  use  it,  and  its  final  con- 
struction is  carried  on  in  the  trench  where  it  is  to  lie. 

The  foundation  of  this  sort  of  pipe  is  a  sheet-iron  drum 
nine  feet  in  length,  made  in  three  sections  in  the  i6-inch 
and  larger  sizes,  and  in  single  sheets  in  the  4  to  14  inch  diam- 
eters. 

The  thickness  of  metal  varies  with  the  sizes  ;  for  example 
we  may  use, 

For  4-inch  pipe,  metal  of  21  Birmingham  Gauge, 
"    6         "  19  "  " 

"  10         "  17 

"  12         "  "          15 

"  14         "  14 

"  16         "  14  "  " 

with  double-riveted  seams,  using  1 2-pound  rivets  for  16,  14, 
and  12  inch  pipe,  lo-pound  for  lo-inch,  6-pound  for  6-inch, 
and  5-pound  for  4-inch  pipes. 


12 


MAIN     TJPES. 


The  first  step  in  the  making  of  this  sort  of  pipe  is  the  put- 
ting into  these  drums  a  lining  y*  to  24  °f  an  ^nc^  ^n  thick- 


FIGURE  i. 


MAIN     PIPES.  13 

ness  of  cement  mortar  mixed  sand  and  cement  half  and 
half. 

The  pipe  is  placed  on  end  over  a  hole  in  a  low  platform, 
and  a  lining  cone  is  let  down  into  it  from  a  crane,  a  derrick, 
or  a  simple  windlass,  and  drops  through  the  hole  in  the  plat- 
form just  far  enough  to  allow  the  pipe  to  be  entirely  filled  at 
its  lower  end  with  the  mortar.  Enough  mortar  is  then  shoveled 
into  the  top  of  the  pipe  from  a  high  platform  to  make  the 
lining,  and  the  cone  is  drawn  slowly  through.  The  surplus 
cement  as  it  falls  over  the  top  during  the  upward  movement 
of  the  cone  is  shoveled  back  into  the  mixing-box,  or  into 
another  pipe  if  there  be  one  at  hand  ready  for  lining,  but  no 
cement  that  has  once  set  is  fit  to  be  used  again.  After  the 
cone  is  drawn  the  pipe  should  stand  20  minutes  or  more  before 
it  is  moved  ;  it  is  then  taken  to  the  grouting  table,  the  ends 
scraped,  and  the  whole  surface  examined  for  defects.  If  at 
any  points  the  cement  has  settled  into  wrinkles  these  should 
be  scraped  down,  and  any  holes  filled  with  pure  cement. 

With  platforms  and  swinging  crane  arranged  to  place  ten 
pipes  on  end  at  once  for  lining,  eight  men  can  fill  100  i4-inch 
pipes  in  a  day,  and  three  men  more  can  grout  and  patch 
them. 

The  grout  can  be  poured  in  with  a  dipper,  and  then  spread 
by  rolling  the  pipe  and  applying  from  each  end  common  dust- 
brushes  fastened  to  long  handles. 

Before  applying  the  grout  the  lining  is  brushed  with  water, 
using  the  long-handled  brushes. 

The  lining  cones  are  made  either  of  cast  iron  or  of  sheet- 
metal,  but  if  the  latter  is  used  they  must  be  filled  with  cement 
to  give  them  weight. 


14  LIST     OF     TOOLS. 

LIST    OF    TOOLS. 

Whatever  be  the  material  chosen  for  main  pipe,  the  trench- 
ing tools  will  be  the  same.  In  the  matter  of  pipe  cutting  and 
jointing,  cast  iron  and  wrought  iron  call  for  very  different 
treatment  and  appliances.  During  days  which  are  too  stormy 
for  work  and  over  night,  all  tools  should  be  securely  packed 
in  tool-boxes,  which  may  be  built  according  to  the  following 
sketch  : 


FIGURE  2 

The  same  carpenter  who  makes  the  boxes  can  make  also  a 
derrick  after  the  sketch  given  in  Figure  3,  which  will  be  found 
strorg  enough  for  pipes  weighing  a  ton  and  easy  to  handle  as 
soon  as  three  men  get  the  knack  of  carrying  it. 

This  should  be  made  of  straight-grained  4x4  sticks,  14% 
feet  long,  held  together  at  the  top  by  a  i-inch  bolt.  The  link 
of  J&  round  iron  drops  one  foot,  and  3/6  carriage-bolts  should 


LIST     OF     TOOLS.  15 

be  put  through  the  end  of  the  sticks  to  keep  them  from  split- 
ting. The  large  cleat  on  the  right  is  to  be  bolted  on  with  two 
fo  carriage-bolts  about  20  inches  from  the  bottom  of  the  leg, 
and  a  hard-wood  pin  driven  in  about  the  same  distance  from 
the  bottom  of  each  of  the  other  legs.  For  pipes  larger  than 
20  inches  a  4-leg  derrick  with  a  windlass  may  be  found  more 
convenient. 


FIGURE  3. 


For  6-inch  pipe  two  8-inch  double  blocks  will  give  power 
enough,  but  for  1 6-inch  a  quadruple  and  triple  block  in  com- 
bination will  be  needed. 

The  number  of  picks  and  shovels  required  depends,  of 
course,  upon  the  number  of  men  that  are  to  be  employed. 
One  shovel  to  a  man  is  enough,  but  if  the  digging  is  likely  to 
be  hard,  double  the  number  of  picks  will  not  be  too  many,  to 


16 


LIST    OF     TOOLS. 


allow  time  for  sharpening.  A  shovel  with  a  welded  strap  does 
better  work  than  one  in  which  the  strap  is  riveted,  and  for 
anything  but  scraping  up  from  a  platform,  a  round  point  is 
better  than  a  square  point. 


FlGlTRB   4. 


Provide  three,  four,  or  half  a  dozen  steel  crowbars  5^  to 
6  feet  long,  2  or  3  sledges  weighing,  say,  10,  15,  and  20  pounds, 


LIST     OF     TOOLS.  17 

and  2  tunneling  bars,  if  the  digging  will  permit  of  this  sort 
of  work.  The  tunneling  bars  are  easily  made  by  welding  on 
to  a  piece  of  i-inch  pipe  8  or  10  feet  long  a  chisel-shaped 
piece  of  steel  2  or  3  inches  wide. 


FIGURE  5. 


For  ledge-work,  drills  made  of    i  ^6-inch   octagon  steel, 
forged  to  cut  a  i^-inch  hole,  with  sledges  weighing  6  co  8 


IS  LIST     OF     TOOLS. 

pounds,  and  a  spoon  for  scooping  out  the  dust  and  drillings, 
will  be  required. 

Carrying  sticks  for  lifting  4,  6,  and  8  inch  pipe,  of  the 
shape  shown  in  the  sketch  Figure  4  (page  16),  are  useful ; 
larger  sizes  of  pipe  are  handled  more  easily  by  rolling. 


FIGURE  6. 

Skids  6  feet  long  of  2x4,  4x4,  or  of  4x6  spruce,  according 
to  the  weight  of  the  pipe,  will  be  needed  to  throw  across  the 
trench. 

When  water  is  not  available  for  back-filling  some  kind  of 
tamp  will  be  needed,  and  sketches  of  two  patterns  are  given 
on  page  17  (Figure  5). 


LIST    OF    TOOLS. 


FIGURE  7. 


20 


LIST     OF     TOOLS. 


If  any  considerable  amount  of  rock-work  is  expected, 
either  as  ledge  or  boulders,  a  second  derrick  will  be  needed, 
with  some  spare  rope  and  a  few  pieces  of  chain. 


FIGURE  8. 


For   cutting   cast-iron   pipe   provide   two  or  three  long- 
handled  chisels,  such  as  blacksmiths  use  for  cutting  off  cold 


LIST     OF     TOOLS. 


21 


iron  (see  Figure  6,  page  18),  and  a  pair  of  light  sledges  or 
striking  hammers.  For  cutting  wrought-iron  pipe  boiler- 
makers'  chisels  and  hammers  are  the  proper  tools. 

For  making  lead  joints  in  cast-iron  pipe,  yarning  and  calk- 
ing tools  and  short-handled  calking  hammer.     One  yarning- 


FURNACE 

OR 

LEAD   KETTLE: 


ur-"^ 


FIGURE 


iron  and  four  calking  tools  varying  in  thickness  from  ^  to  ^ 
of  an  inch  make  a  convenient  set. 

A  furnace  or  lead-kettle  of  the  pattern  indicated  in  Figure 
g  is  common  among  water-works  contractors.  There  should 
be  a  second  door  opening  on  to  the  grate  at  the  point  on  the 
sketch  where  the  shell  is  broken  away  to  show  the  interior. 


22  TRANSPORTATION. 

TRANSPORTATION. 

Before  the  arrival  of  the  pipe  arrangements  should  be 
made  to  have  men  and  teams  ready  to  begin  work  at  a  few 
hours'  notice ;  for,  as  a  rule,  vessel  captains  and  railroad  com- 
panies are  in  a  hurry  to  be  rid  of  their  cargoes.  Some  trust- 
worthy man  should  be  selected  to  oversee  the  unloading  and 
keep  tally.  In  cast-iron  pipe  it  is  customary  to  mark  the 
weight  of  each  piece  with  white  paint  inside  the  bell,  and  if  a 
memorandum  is  made  of  the  weight  of  each  piece  as  it  leaves 
the  car  or  vessels,  the  pipes  will  be  counted  and  a  check  on 
the  weight  given  in  the  bill  of  lading  will  be  obtained. 

The  pipes  may  be  piled  up  on  the  wharf,  or  taken  directly 
from  the  cars  on  to  the  drays  or  low  gears  that  are  to  cart 
them.  If  they  are  to  be  put  directly  upon  the  drays  little  or 
no  blocking  will  be  needed.  Strong  and  careful  men  with 
carrying  sticks,  and  some  skids  in  the  absence  of  a  derrick, 
will  soon  discover  the  easiest  method  of  handling  the  pipe 
and  avoiding  shocks  and  blows.  If  the  pipe  is  coming  out  of 
a  vessel  and  is  to  be  piled  up  on  the  wharf,  2x4  spruce  sticks 
in  market  lengths  should  be  placed  between  the  tiers,  and 
strong  skids  used  to  roll  the  pipe  from  the  deck  ashore,  and 
blocking  be  freely  applied  to  prevent  bunting,  striking,  or 
rolling.  In  the  experience  of  the  writer,  six  active  and  fear- 
less men  easily  took  16,  6,  and  4  inch  pipe  from  a  vessel  and 
piled  it  securely  on  a  wharf  faster  than  the  crew  could  get  it 
out  of  the  hold  with  a  steam  derrick. 

In  carting  cast-iron  pipe  convenience  and  necessity  will 
determine  the  kind  of  vehicle  to  be  used,  but  in  carting 
cement-lined  pipe  it  is  well  to  insist  that  the  wagon  shall  have 


TRANSPORTATION.  23 

springs  that  the  chances  for  cracking  the  cement  lining  may 
be  reduced.  The  cost  of  carting  must  vary  so  much  with 
circumstances  that  the  writer  can  do  no  more  than  quote 
some  figures  from  his  own  experience.  Three  bids  were 
received  in  the  spring  of  1887  for  carting  an  average  distance 
of  about  two  miles  over  good  roads  and  streets  with  no  steep 
grades  : 

680  tons  of  i35-lb.  i6-inch  pipe, 
loo        "      34-lb.  6-inch  pipe. 
100        "      20-lb.  4-inch  pipe. 
One  of  $i  per  ton  gross. 
One  of  67!  cents  per  ton  gross. 
One  of  64  cents  per  ton  gross. 

At  the  lowest  figure  the  teamster  appears  to  be  satisfied 
that  he  is  making  a  fair  profit,  but  his  horses  and  men  are 
working  hard  for  it. 

When  the  town  of  Middleboro,  Mass.,  constructed  its 
water-works  the  writer  was  informed  that  the  carting  was 
done  for  fifty  cents  per  ton,  but  the  average  hauls  were  short 
and  the  roads  good. 

Considerable  judgment  is  required  on  the  part  of  the 
teamsters  who  deliver  the  pipe  on  the  street  to  distribute  it  so 
that  it  will  not  fall  short  or  run  over  in  laying,  so  that  it  will 
not  cause  excessive  risk  to  night  travelers  while  it  is  awaiting 
the  coming  of  the  workmen,  so  that  it  will  not  be  in  the  way 
of  entrances  to  private  estates  or  of  merchants  whose  teams 
wish  to  receive  or  discharge  goods.  If  circumstance  will  per- 
mit, it  will  save  time  for  the  pipe-layers  to  have  the  pipe  laid 
on  the  street  with  all  the  bells  pointing  one  way,  and  that  in 
the  direction  of  the  movement  of  the  gang.  This  with  refer- 


24  TRANSPORTATION. 

ence  to  bell  and  spigot  pipe  ;  with  other  patterns  this  condi- 
tion does  not  exist. 

In  directing  the  teamsters  on  which  side  of  the  street  to 
deliver  the  pipe,  consider  on  which  side  of  the  trench  the 
bulk  of  the  dirt  is  to  be  thrown,  and  have  the  pipe  dropped 
on  the  side  opposite  to  that,  and  thus  avoid  having  to  lift  the 
pipe  over  an  embankment  of  loose  earth. 


CHAPTER  II. 

FIELD  WORK. 

Engineering  or  None — Pipe  Plans — Special  Pipe — Laying  Out 
a  Line —  Width  and  Depth  of  Trench —  Time- Keeping  Book 
— Disposition  of  Dirt —  Tunneling — Street- Piling. 

T  T  is  well  understood  by  the  readers  of  THE  ENGINEERING 
AND  BUILDING  RECORD  that  the  best  preparation  for  any 
considerable  amount  of  main-pipe  laying  is  found  in  a  careful 
survey  of  the  proposed  line,  which  shall  take  note  of  every 
feature  which  is  likely  to  affect  the  work.  Cross  streets  or 
roads,  existing  or  proposed,  brooks,  bridges,  drains,  culverts, 
sewers,  gas-pipes,  and  old  water-mains,  if  there  be  any,  should 
be  indicated  on  plan  and  profile,  and  forethought  given  to 
schemes  for  avoiding  and  overcoming  evident  obstacles. 

Let  me  warn  the  novice  that,  in  spite  of  his  most  earnest 
forethought,  obstacles  that  could  hardly  be  foreseen  even  by 
one  of  experience  will  almost  certainly  arise,  and  he  can  at 
best  only  strive  to  reduce  the  number  of  the  unexpected  diffi- 
culties. 

The  need  for  laying  pipes  to  line  and  grade  is  an  imperative 
one  on  the  main  line  from  a  reservoir  in  a  gravity  system  ;  is 
almost  as  necessary  with  any  main  larger  than  ten  or  twelve 


26  FIELD    WORK. 

inches,  though  perhaps  less  important  in  the  smaller  pipes 
through  the  streets  of  a  town. 

A  town  may  build  a  respectable  system  of  water-works 
with  a  wonderfully  small  amount  of  engineering,  but  money 
saved  at  the  outset  in  this  way  is  generally  expended  at  a  later 
date  in  correcting  blunders  and  repairing  defective  work.  The 
writer  calls  to  mind  at  this  moment  an  instance  in  which  a 
defective  length  of  pipe  which  was  made  a  part  of  a  submerged 
river-crossing  has  since  caused  an  expenditure  of  not  less  than 
$2,000  at  different  times  for  repairs  ;  enough  to  have  paid  for 
a  reasonable  amount  of  engineering  and  thorough  inspection. 

Let  us  suppose  that  full  surveys  and  drawings  have  been 
made  ;  in  what  form,  then,  shall  they  be  put,  so  as  to  be 
intelligible  to  the  foreman  in  charge  of  the  gang?  If  an 
assistant  engineer  is  constantly  on  the  trench,  he  may  not 
need  a  full  drawing  ;  his  own  notes  made  at  the  office  may  be 
sufficient,  but  this  arrangement  is  not  always  practicable.  We 
give  herewith  Figure  10,  a  sketch  copied  from  blue  prints  used 
by  Mr.  R.  C.  P.  Coggeshall  in  his  work  at  New  Bedford,  Mass. 
These  sheets  are  not  large,  10x15  inches  or  less,  and  are  given 
to  the  foreman  a  few  days  before  the  beginning  of  the  work, 
so  that  he  may  get  the  gates,  hydrants,  and  specials  on  the 
ground  in  advance  of  the  digging.  The  writer  has  followed 
essentially  the  same  plan,  but  in  his  drawings  no  attempt  is 
made  to  show  the  form  of  the  special  castings.  Single  or 
double  lines,  with  the  names  of  the  castings  and  size  of  gates, 
the  whole  drawn  to  scale  of  forty  feet  to  one  inch,  are  used  as 
shown  in  Figure  n,  page  29. 

If  a  draughtsman  is  available  the  first  method  is  certainly 
to  be  preferred,  but  if  one  must  be  his  own  engineer,  super- 


FIELD     WORK. 


27 


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FIGURE  10, 


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^ 


28  FIELD    WORK. 

intendent,  and  draughtsman,  as  is  often  the  case  in  small  towns, 
the  second  method  has  its  advantages. 

These  pipe  plans  represent  the  best  practice,  but  if  the  earth 
could  be  thrown  off  some  main-pipe  systems,  as  the  valet  of 
Frederick  the  Great  used  to  throw  the  bed-clothes  off  his 
master  in  the  morning,  the  easy  curves  and  special  angles 
which  the  foregoing  plans  provide  would  not  be  found. 

I  once  heard  a  man  of  wide  experience  in  handling  pipe 
say  that  he  could  lay  cast-iron  pipe  in  the  crookedest  town 
that  was  ever  laid  out  on  the  cow-paths,  if  he  had  single 
branches  and  plenty  of  pipe.  Such  work  is  not  to  be  com- 
mended, but  it  has  been,  and  probably  will  be,  done. 

It  would  be  outside  the  scope  of  these  papers  to  describe 
methods  which  may  be  employed  in  locating  a  pipe-line  and 
staking  out  the  curves  and  angles  according  to  railroad  prac- 
tice, but  some  beginner  may  be  glad  to  receive  suggestions  as 
to  simple  working  methods.  When  he  is  given  a  gang  of  men, 
a  quantity  of  straight  pipe,  and  told  to  lay  a  main  on  B  Street 
from  a  given  point  to  a  branch  on  S  Avenue,  his  instructions 
will  probably  include  the  location  of  the  branch  with  more  or 
less  accuracy,  but  on  reaching  the  scene  of  operations  he  may 
find  that  this  branch  points  all  askew  for  B  Street,  and  the 
street  itself  straggles  along  to  a  junction  with  the  avenue  in  a 
tangential,  uncertain  sort  of  way  that  is  more  picturesque  than 
satisfactory. 

The  first  comforting  fact  is  that  we  can  swing  around  the 
sharpest  curve  which  is  likely  to  present  itself  by  cutting  the 
pipe  into  short  pieces  and  making  the  joints  as  one-sided  as 
we  dare. 


FIELD     WORK 


FIGURE  n. 


30  FIELD     WORK. 

We  must  have  a  line  of  some  kind — sash- cord  or  clothes- 
line are  first-rate  for  the  purpose — so  that  we  can  fasten  one 
end  of  it  to  a  point  in  the  ground  nearly  over  the  branch,  say 
18  inches  to  the  right  of  it.  Now  let  a  man  take  the  ball  or 
coil  of  line  and  stretch  it  in  the  direction  in  which  the  branch 
points,  as  nearly  as  can  be  judged.  Suppose  the  line  is  to 
swing  to  the  right,  let  one  laborer  drive  his  pick  into  the 
ground  close  to  the  line,  on  the  right  of  it,  and  12  or  15  feet 
from  the  fastened  end.  Keep  the  line  stretched,  swing  it  to 
the  right  again,  and  have  another  pick  driven  into  the  ground 
25  or  30  feet  from  the  fastened  end. 

When  a  hundred  feet  or  more  of  the  line  have  been 
stretched  in  this  way,  set  a  half  a  dozen  men  to  picking  a  rut 
along  the  left  side  of  the  line.  Make  them  follow  the  line  ; 
don't  let  them  walk  backwards,  and  see  that  they  all  pick  on 
the  same  side  of  the  line  ;  it  is  safe  to  say  that  half  of  them 
won't  if  you  let  them  alone.  The  sections  may  be  measured 
by  laying  down  a  shovel-length  four  times,  or,  if  the  digging 
is  sandy,  15  feet  is  not  too  much. 

The  width  of  the  trench  may  vary  from  28  to  36  inches, 
depending  on  the  size  of  the  pipe,  though  if  the  soil  is  known 
in  advance  to  be  sandy,  and  likely  to  cave,  it  may  be  cheaper 
to  start  the  trench  four  feet  wide  on  top,  and  slope  it  towards 
the  bottom,  rather  than  to  use  bracing. 

The  depth  to  which  pipe  may  or  must  be  laid  is  controlled 
by  more  than  one  consideration. 

In  northern  latitudes  protection  from  frost  is  first  to  be 
thought  of,  and  the  amount  of  covering  required  for  this  de- 
pends upon  the  nature  of  the  ground,  the  size  of  the  pipe, 


FIELD    WORK.  31 

and  the  quantity  of  water  flowing  during  the  hours  of  mini- 
mum flow. 

In  loose,  gravelly  and  stony  ground  the  temperature  will 
frequently  fall  below  32°  Fah.  for  a  depth  of  5  or  6  feet,  and 
hydrant-branches  and  service  pipes  have  frozen  under  such 
conditions.  In  compact  earth,  free  from  large  stones,  the 
ground  is  not  frozen  more  than  three  or  four  feet,  and  under 
good  sod  the  distance  is  even  less  than  that.  These  figures 
will  hold  good,  I  think,  as  far  north  as  the  isothermal  line  of 
Portland,  Me. 

Any  section  of  a  main  pipe-line  which  is  sure  of  a  good 
circulation  may  be  laid  at  any  convenient  depth  without 
regard  to  temperature,  and  examples  may  be  cited  of  main 
pipes  which  cross  bridges  without  any  protection  from  freez- 
ing except  that  afforded  by  the  current  of  water  constantly 
moving  through  them.  Exact  information  upon  this  point  is 
desirable. 

There  is  a  sort  of  unwritten  law,  in  New  England  at  least, 
that  the  axis  of  all  pipes  should  be  five  feet  below  the  surface. 

If  the  amount  of  work  on  hand  justifies  the  employment 
of  not  less  than  forty  or  fifty  men,  it  will  require  the  attention 
of  one  capable  man  whose  duty  shall  be  those  of  a  foreman 
of  the  trenching  gang. 

The  right  man  in  this  position  will  have  no  lack  of  work. 
He  can  keep  the  time  for  the  whole  gang,  lay  out  the  trench 
in  advance,  see  that  the  damage  from  the  excavated  dirt  is 
reduced  to  a  minimum,  keep  private  driveways  open,  look 
after  the  bracing  of  the  trench  if  this  be  found  necessary,  see 
that  the  trench  is  dug  to  the  line  and  grade  given,  keep  the 
unoccupied  side  of  the  road  as  free  as  possible,  and,  finally, 


FIELD    WORK. 


pick  out  the  fellows  who  are  trying  to  shirk  and  get  rid  of 
them. 

Time-keeping,  if  one  wishes  to  know  with  exactness  the 
cost  of   the  whole  or  any  portion  of  a  season's  work,  is  an 


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FIG.  12. 


important  detail,  and  a  convenient  and  well-designed  time- 
book  is  almost  indispensable  to  good  results.     A  sample  page 


FIELD     WORK  33 

from  the  time-book  in  use  by  the  writer  will  illustrate  one 
method  which  has  been  well  tried  and  is  not  found  wanting 
(see  Figure  12). 

With  the  aid  of  this  book  we  have  been  able  to  tell  with 
satisfactory  exactness  at  the  end  of  a  season's  work  where 
every  dollar  of  the  pay-rolls  has  been  expended. 

For  example,  the  page  here  given  tells  us  that  Jack  Cade 
is  number  49  in  the  gang ;  that  he  is  paid  $2.25  per  day ;  that 
on  the  first  day  of  August  he  worked  only  during  the  fore- 
noon, in  the  derrick -gang  on  Bay  Street  ;  on  the  second  he 
made  a  full  day  in  the  same  position  ;  on  the  third  he  did  not 
begin  until  the  middle  of  the  forenoon,  finishing  out  the  day. 
As  pay-day  comes  once  a  week  the  space  belonging  to  Sunday 
is  utilized  to  put  down  the  footing  of  total  time  for  each  week. 
On  Tuesday,  the  seventh.  Cade  during  the  forenoon  worked  on 
Bay  Street  and  on  High  Street  after  dinner,  and  Ck.  shows 
that  he  was  employed  in  calking  joints.  In  Tim  Daley's 
record  B.  H.  stands  for  "bell-hole  digging,"  B.  F.  for  ''back 
filling,"  Tr.  for  trenching,  and  C.  S  P.  (construction  service- 
pipe)  shows  that  Daley  was  taken  from  the  main  pipe  gang  on 
those  days  and  sent  to  dig  service-pipe  trenches. 

In  working  through  the  streets  of  a  town,  especially  in 
the  portions  occupied  by  well-kept  estates,  it  is  well  to  remem- 
ber that  a  man  with  a  newly-painted  fence  or  a  bit  of  smooth 
grass-plot  is  very  unwilling  to  allow  gravel  or  clay  to  be  thrown 
against  his  fence  or  on  to  his  lawn,  even  if  the  street  be 
narrow  and  the  workmen  cramped  for  room.  A  few  hemlock 
boards  do  not  cost  much  and  may  save  considerable  growling, 
for  if  they  are  judiciously  placed  against  the  fence  they  will 
protect  both  it  and  the  lawn.  Under  these  conditions,  however, 


34  FIELD    WORK. 

there  is  some  danger,  if  the  dirt  reach  nearly  to  the  top  of  the 
fence,  of  straining  the  structure  and  throwing  it  out  of  line. 
If  this  happens  the  fence  must  be  straightened  and  the  bill 
paid. 

When  tunneling  is  impracticable  driveways  and  cross- 
streets  may  be  kept  in  constant  use  by  opening  the  trench  half 
way  across  the  space,  leaving  just  driving  room,  and  then 
digging  on  as  usual.  When  the  pipe-line  is  brought  up  to  the 
undisturbed  portion,  the  last  two  or  three  joints  may  be  made 
without  waiting  for  others,  then  enough  of  the  trench  immedi- 
ately filled  to  furnish  new  driving  room,  and  the  undisturbed 
portion  dug  out  by  the  derrick  gang  in  quick  time. 

Bracing,  if  done  to  any  considerable  extent,  is  expensive 
work,  but  as  it  is  not  right  and  does  not  pay  in  Massachusetts 
to  expose  men  to  risk  of  injury,  bracing  the  trench  is  some- 
times not  to  be  avoided. 

If  the  tendency  to  cave  is  only  slight  and  the  trench  is  not 
more  than  five  feet  deep,  sufficient  support  may  be  given  by 
single  planks  running  along  just  below  the  edge  of  the  trench 
and  held  in  place  by  short  pieces  of  4x4  joist,  which  are  cut  a 
little  longer  than  the  distance  across  the  trench  between  the 
planks,  and  then  driven  in  place  with  sledges. 

In  loose  gravel  or  sand  this  sort  of  bracing  amounts  to 
little  or  nothing,  for  the  stuff  will  run  out  from  under  the 
planks  and  finally  tumble  everything  into  the  ditch. 

Water-pipes  are  seldom  laid  to  a  depth  which  requires  the 
thorough  bracing  and  sheet-piling  of  deep  sewer-work,  but  a 
simple  sketch  and  a  few  words  of  explanation  will  make  plain 
the  vital  points  involved  in  the  construction  of  ordinary  sheet- 
piling.  After  excavating  to  a  depth  of  four  feet,  a  trench 


FIELD     WORK. 


35 


which  must  go  four  feet  deeper,  in  quicksand,  for  example,  it 
may  be  braced  as  indicated  in  Figure  13.  Lay  the  4x6 
stringers  B  along  the  bottom  of  the  trench  and  put  a  lo-foot 


FIG.  13. 


plank  between  each  end  and  the  bank.  Cut  cross-braces  C  long 
enough  to  drive  in  hard,  and  then  fix  the  top  stringers  T  in  the 
same  manner  ;  the  next  is  simply  driving  plank  to  make  the 
sheet-piling  complete. 


36  FIELD     WORK. 

It  is  not  always  easy  to  cut  sticks  of  just  the  right  length  to 
be  used  for  cross-braces  C,  and  screw-jacks  are  economical  in 
time  and  labor  if  much  sheet-piling  is  to  be  done.  We  may 
use  short  jacks  and  a  piece  timber  shorter  than  the  \\*dth  of 
the  trench  by  the  length  of  the  jack,  or,  in  narrow  trenches, 
jacks  of  sufficient  length  to  enable  one  to  dispense  with  a 
timber  brace  may  be  preferred. 

The  one  thing  needful  to  make  sheet-piling  thoroughly 
effective  is  to  keep  the  ends  of  the  plank  as  much  below  the 
bottom  of  the  trench  as  is  possible,  and  to  this  end  each  plank 
should  be  driven  frequently  if  only  a  little  at  a  time.  If  the 
ends  of  the  plank  are  chamfered  and  pointed,  so  as  to  help  to 
throw  them  back  against  the  bank  and  sideways  against  the 
plank  last  driven,  better  work  can  be  done  than  with  square- 
toed  plank.  If  the  amount  of  driving  is  considerable  it  will 
pay  to  protect  the  ends  of  the  planks  by  a  wrought- iron  cap. 
Driving  is  to  be  done  with  wooden  mauls,  six  inches  or  more 
in  diameter  and  twelve  inches  long,  bound  with  rings  of 
wrought  iron. 


CHAPTER     III. 

TRENCHING  AND   PIPE-LAYING. 

Caving —  Tunneling — Bell-  Holes — Stony  Trenches  —  Feathers 
and  Wedges — Blasting — Rocks  and  Water — Laying  Cast- 
iron  Pipe — Derrick  Gang — Handling  the  Derrick — Skids 
— Obstructions  Left  in  Pipes — Laying  Pipe  in  Quicksand — 
Cutting  Pipe. 

\  TRENCH  which  is  troublesome  on  account  of  caving 
grows  worse  the  longer  it  is  open  ;  if,  therefore,  the 
trenching  gang  is  a  good  distance  ahead  of  the  pipe-layers, 
and  water  and  quicksand  are  found  within  two  or  three  feet  of 
the  surface,  it  is  wise  to  send  the  diggers  ahead  on  to  dry 
ground,  or  make  some  other  arrangement,  so  that  the  last  two 
or  three  feet  in  depth  of  the  wet  trench  will  not  be  opened 
until  pipe  can  be  dropped  into  it.  When  caving  occurs  in 
wet,  heavy  ground  some  warning  of  the  impending  trouble  is 
given  by  cracks  in  the  surface,  running  nearly  parallel  to  the 
side  of  the  trench  ;  but  in  sandy  gravel  the  drop  comes  with- 
out warning  and  men  may  be  seriously  injured.  In  any  case 
the  tendency  to  caving  is  increased  by  the  weight  of  the  exca- 
vated material  piled  up  on  one  edge  of  the  trench,  and,  if  cir- 


38  TRENCHING    AND    PIPE-LAYING. 

cumstances  will  permit,  it  is  well  to  keep  men  on  the  bank  to 
shovel  back  the  material  as  fast  as  it  is  thrown  out. 

In  soil  that  will  allow  it,  tunneling  will  often  save  the  pub- 
lic and  individuals  much  inconvenience  by  carrying  the  trench 
under  crosswalks,  driveways,  and  railroad  crossings,  and  the 
only  tools  needed  are  the  tunneling-bars,  mentioned  in  the  list 
of  tools,  and  long-handled  shovels.  A  little  practice  and  bold- 
ness in  this  detail  will  give  very  satisfactory  results. 

With  cast-iron  pipe,  when  the  digging  is  good  and  the 
trench  stands  up  well,  it  pays  to  put  three,  four,  or  half  a 
dozen  men  at  work  digging  bell-holes  ;  that  is,  enlarged  places 
in  the  trench,  spaced  so  as  to  come  about  the  joints  of  the 
pipe,  and  large  enough  to  give  a  man  room  to  swing  his  ham- 
mer and  get  at  all  parts  of  the  joint  without  unnecessary 
fatigue.  There  is  little  or  no  danger  of  getting  the  bell-holes 
too  large,  and  plenty  of  room  for  the  calker  will  do  not  a  little 
toward  insuring  tight  and  strong  work.  The  bottom  of  the 
trench  should  be  dug  out  eight  or  ten  inches  for  a  length  of 
four  feet  beyond  the  joint,  and  the  sides  worked  out  on  the 
same  scale  to  give  ample  shoulder  room.  These  directions 
will  have  a  queer  sound  when  one  is  trying  to  make  joints  in 
quicksand,  and  at  such  a  time  fixed  rules  amount  to  but  little. 
No  end  of  grit,  plenty  of  hard  work,  with  some  little  planning, 
will  make  joints  in  places  that  seem  all  but  hopeless  for  the 
first  half-hour. 

In  these  cases,  bell-hole  digging  and  joint-making  must  be 
done  together,  and  some  suggestions  upon  this  detail  will  be 
given  later. 

Neither  stony  nor  rocky  trenches  offer  any  serious  difficul- 
ties, and  even  in  ledge -work  it  is  simply  a  question  of  time 


TRENCHING    AND     PIPE-LAYING.  39 

and  money.  If  the  bottom  of  the  trench  comes  in  rock  which 
must  be  worked  out  by  drilling  and  blasting,  the  ledge  should 
be  cut  away  to  a  depth  which  will  allow  sand  six  or  eight 
inches  in  depth  to  be  spread  upon  the  rock,  in  which  the  pipe 
may  be  imbedded.  If  boulders  are  encountered  which  are  too 
large  to  be  taken  out  by  the  derrick,  they  should  be  well  cleared 
from  the  confining  earth  by  digging  before  applying  powder  or 
dynamite  ;  this  gives  the  explosive  a  fair  chance,  and  digging 
is  cheaper  than  drilling  and  blasting.  Large  pieces  may  some- 


FEKTHKU  wo  \*to«^. 

FIGURE  14. 


times  be  worked  off  from  a  boulder  or  ledge  which  projects 
into  the  trench,  without  using  explosives,  by  means  of  small 
hand-drills  and  "feathers  and  wedges."  To  do  this,  drill  y±- 
inch  holes  with  a  short  steel  drill  and  stone-mason's  hand- 
hammer  along  the  desired  line  of  fracture,  eight  or  ten  inches 
deep  and  six  inches  apart ;  drop  a  pair  of  feathers  made  of  |4- 
inch  y<2, -round  iron  into  each  hole  and  drive  the  wedges  between 
each  pair.  The  "  feathers  and  wedges  "  are  shown  in  Figure  14. 
In  blasting,  the  nitro-glycerine  preparation  known  to  the 
trade  as  "forcite-powder "  is  comparatively  safe  and  gives 


40  TRENCHING    AND     PIPE-LAYING. 

better  results  than  common  gunpowder,  for  it  will  shatter 
rocks  more  thoroughly  and  with  less  tamping.  To  fire  a  i  #  - 
inch  hole  three  feet  or  more  in  depth,  take  a  whole  forcite- 
cartridge,  cut  off  perhaps  half  an  inch  in  length,  and  set  a 
percussion-cap  pinched  on  to  the  end  of  a  piece  of  fuse  into 
this  short  piece  of  the  forcite  by  boring  out  a  small  hole  with 
a  knife.  Lower  this  into  the  hole  and  cover  it  with  the  re- 
mainder of  the  cartridge  broken  into  small  pieces  between  the 
fingers,  and  fill  up  the  hole  with  earth  tamped  down  with  a 
stick. 

Such  a  charge  as  that  will  let  daylight  into  any  rock  that  a 
pipe-gang  is  likely  to  encounter,  but  the  blast  should  be  care- 
fully loaded  with  logs,  timbers,  or  railroad-ties  chained  together, 
and  covered  with  brush  to  arrest  small  pieces  which  may  do 
damage  if  allowed  to  fly.  This  forcite-powder  may  be  used  to 
loosen  a  troublesome  boulder,  by  simply  poking  a  hole  into 
the  bank  alongside  of  it  and  tucking  in  a  little  of  the  explosive 
folded  in  an  envelope  and  held  in  place  by  a  slight  packing  of 
earth,  or  a  cracked  and  seamy  rock  may  be  thoroughly  split  by 
dropping  an  envelope  full  of  the  powder  into  one  of  the  cracks, 
and  firing  by  cap  and  fuse  in  the  usual  manner. 

Rocks  which  appear  in  the  bottom  of  a  wet  trench  are 
unwelcome  enough,  but  it  will  not  do  to  leave  them  in  such 
shape  that  a  pipe  will  be  supported  by  them  in  the  middle, 
with  the  weight  of  the  back-filled  earth  bearing  on  the  ends, 
lying  in  soft  ground.  If  the  expense  of  getting  out  the  rock, 
seems  too  great,  the  depth  of  the  trench  should  be  reduced 
until  a  firm  and  even  bearing  can  be  secured. 

On  all  trenches  that  do  not  stand  up  well  or  that  must  be 
made  wide  to  get  out  rocks,  the  long  three-legged  derrick, 


PIPE-LAYING.  41 

illustrated  on  page  15,  will  be  found  exceedingly  convenient, 
for  its  range  is  wide,  and  it  can  straddle  fences  in  a  right 
handy  fashion. 

PIPE-LAYING. 

Cast-Iron  Pipe. — When  a  hundred  feet  of  trench  has  been 
bottomed  out  it  is  time  to  make  up  the  derrick  gang,  and 
begin  the  work  of  putting  the  pipe  into  the  ground.  For  six, 
eight,  and  ten  inch  pipe  six  men  are  enough,  and  they  should 
be  strong,  active,  and  intelligent  laborers.  Men  who  are 
employed  in  this  gang  generally  expect  perhaps  twenty-five 
cents  per  day  more  than  the  average  digger,  and  good  men  in 
the  place  are  worth  it.  It  is  not  well  to  let  the  fellows  who 
may  be  first  chosen  for  this  gang  think  that  they  are  indispen- 
sable, and  if  one  of  them  happens  to  be  off  a  day,  do  not 
hesitate  to  take  any  good  man  out  of  the  trench  to  fill  the 
vacant  place. 

The  first  thing  that  a  green  lot  of  men  must  learn  is  to 
raise  and  carry  the  derrick,  assuming  that  it  be  of  the  three- 
legged  style  referred  to  in  a  previous  chapter.  It  is  to  be 
raised,  first,  just  as  a  ladder  should  be,  by  footing  the  bottom 
and  walking  it  into  an  upright  position  ;  then  let  one  man 
grasp  the  pin  of  the  middle  leg  with  one  hand  and  the  leg  with 
the  other,  a  man  at  each  of  the  other  legs  holding  them  firmly, 
and  carry  it  straight  away  five  or  six  feet ;  spread  the  other  two 
legs  the  same  distance,  and  the  derrick  stands  alone,  though 
perhaps  not  very  firmly.  A  little  study  of  the  structure  will 
now  show  that  the  legs  may  be  spread  as  far  apart  as  need  be, 
provided  always  that  lines  joining  the  feet  of  the  derrick 
form  either  an  isosceles  or  an  equilateral  triangle,  the  line 


42  PIPE-LAYING. 

joining  the  two  outside  legs  being  the  base.  In  placing  over 
the  trench,  the  middle  leg  should  stand  on  the  side  which  has 
the  largest  quantity  of  earth  piled  upon  it.  The  man  who  is 
to  carry  the  third  leg,  as  the  derrick  is  moved  along  from  pipe 
to  pipe,  should  grasp  the  pin  firmly  when  the  time  for  moving 
comes,  throw  his  weight  towards  the  trench,  and  be  careful  to 
keep  midway  between  his  comrades  who  are  carrying  the  out- 
side legs,  and  they  in  turn  should  walk  as  close  to  the  edge  of 
the  trench  as  practicable,  resist  the  push  of  the  derrick  firmly, 
and  keep  about  ten  feet  apart. 

A  man  at  each  leg,  another  to  carry  the  rope,  and  two  men 
in  the  trench,  make  an  ordinary  derrick  gang  ;  for  handling 
i6-inch  pipe  more  men  will  be  needed  in  hoisting  and  placing. 
The  smaller  sizes  of  pipe  can  be  brought  from  the  side  of  the 
road  to  the  trench  by  means  of  the  carrying-sticks.  These 
sticks  thrust  into  a  pipe  give  good  lifting  hold,  and  two  stout 
fellows  at  each  end,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  will  carry  4-inch 
easily,  and  8-inch  without  overwork.  Skids  of  4x4  spruce 
thrown  across  the  trench  may  support  the  pipe  while  the  der- 
rick is  put  in  place  over  it ;  a  sling  of  rope  is  then  to  be  passed 
around  the  pipe  enough  nearer  to  the  bell  than  to  the  spigot 
end  to  cause  the  spigot  end  to  fall  easily  into  the  trench  when 
the  pipe  is  lifted  by  the  tackle  from  the  skids.  As  the  skids 
are  removed  to  allow  the  pipe  to  be  lowered  into  the  trench, 
let  one  of  the  gang  bunt  the  pipe  with  the  end  of  the  skid 
to  clear  the  pipe  from  sticks,  stones,  and  dirt.  This  is  not 
enough,  however,  and  it  should  be  the  duty  of  the  men  in  the 
trench  to  look  through  the  pipe  as  it  comes  down  to  them  and 
make  sure  that  no  one  has,  either  maliciously  or  carelessly,  left 
therein  an  old  hat,  or  a  pair  of  boots  or  overalls.  These 


PIPE-LAYING.  43 

remarks  are  not  in  jest,  for  just  such  combinations  of  what  the 
doctors  might  call  incompatibles  have  been  made. 

As  the  pipe  is  lowered,  one  of  the  trenchmen  enters  the 
spigot  into  the  preceding  bell,  his  comrade  assisting  as  best  he 
can,  but  before  the  pipe  rests  on  the  ground  it  is  well  to  swing 
it  like  a  ram  against  the  pipe  already  laid  to  make  sure  that  the 
joints  ready  for  calking  are  all  "  home."  As  soon  as  the  pipe 
rests  on  the  bottom,  the  foreman  should  straddle  the  trench 
at  a  convenient  point  ahead  of  the  derrick,  align  the  pipe  just 
laid,  and  look  back  over  the  line  for  joints  which  may  be 
improved. 

The  trenchmen  should  carry  bars  with  them  to  throw  the 
pipe,  and  not  try  to  use  shovels  for  levers.  Attention  should 
be  given  to  vertical  alignment,  as  well  as  horizontal,  and  if 
grades  are  not  given  by  an  engineer,  and  no  use  is  made  of  a 
carpenter's  level  on  the  pipes,  the  vertical  alignment  may  be 
kept  within  bounds  by  keeping  the  joints  of  the  same  width 
at  the  bottom  as  at  the  top.  If  the  bell  end  of  a  pipe  when  it 
rests  on  bottom  is  found  to  be  too  low,  raise  it  with  the  der- 
rick, throw  rather  more  than  enough  loose  dirt  under  it,  and 
then  drop  the  pipe  down  hard  on  this  two  or  three  times.  As 
soon  as  the  pipe  is  in  position  a  few  shovelfuls  of  earth  should 
be  thrown  on  to  the  centre  of  it  to  hold  it,  and  if  the  trench 
is  bad,  the  section  between  the  joints  may  be  half-filled  at 
once,  as  this  will  support  the  bank  and  counteract  any  ten- 
dency to  caving.  With  4  and  6  inch  pipe  and  a  troublesome 
trench,  two  or  three  lengths  may  be  put  together  on  the  bank, 
the  joints  made  on  dry  land,  and  then  with  two  derricks  and 
careful  slinging  three  lengths  may  be  put  into  the  trench  at 
once  without  straining  the  joints.  The  few  joints  that  must 


44  PIPE-LAYING. 

be  made  in  the  trench  may,  in  quicksand,  seem  at  first  like 
hopeless  cases,  but  persistence  and  no  thought  of  ultimate 
failure  have  conquered  the  worst  cases  that  have  come  in  the 
experience  of  the  writer.  In  such  instances  it  is  useless  to 
attempt  to  get  the  sand  down  so  as  to  make  the  joint  right 
through  without  stopping  to  dig  out  again.  Let  the  calker 
stand  on  the  pipe  while  a  good  man  with  a  shovel,  perhaps  a 
lot  of  sod,  and  some  pieces  of  plank,  clears  away  and  holds 
back  the  stuff  so  that  the  joint  may  be  yarned  if  not  poured. 
If  the  sand  rises  as  soon  as  the  shoveling  ceases,  let  the  calker 
do  all  he  can  by  quick  work,  and  then  rest  while  another 
attempt  with  planks,  sod,  pails,  and  shovels  is  made  to  make 
room  for  him.  In  general,  whatever  means  are  employed  to 
make  and  maintain  room  for  joint-making  in  quicksand,  let 
the  preparations  be  thorough  ;  let  the  plank  be  driven  as  deep 
as  possible  and  well  braced,  sods  provided  in  large  quantities  ; 
have  pails  or  a  good  ditch-pump,  and  good  strong  men  who 
are  not  afraid  to  "  pitch  in." 

In  order  to  locate  gates  or  special  castings  in  a  particular 
spot,  or  to  bring  a  joint  into  a  more  accessible  location,  it  is 
frequently  necessary  to  cut  pipe. 

For  this  use  an  8  or  10  pound  sledge  and  the  long-handled 
cutting-off  tool  illustrated  in  Chapter  I.;  put  a  skid  under 
each  end  of  the  pipe,  placing  one  directly  under  the  line  of 
cutting  and  get  a  firm  and  even  bearing  on  the  ground  for  its 
whole  length.  A  line  for  the  cutter  to  follow  may  be  had  by 
winding  the  end  of  a  tape-line  about  the  pipe  and  marking 
along  the  edge  with  chalk,  but  a  little  practice  will  enable  one 
to  guide  the  cutter  as  the  pipe  is  slowly  rolled  on  the  skids, 
so  as  to  make  a  square  cut.  The  blows  of  the  sledge  should 


PIPE-LAYING.  45 

be  rather  light  for  the  first  time  around,  aud  then  when  the 
cut  is  well  marked  so  that  it  may  be  easily  followed,  the  blows 
may  be  swung  in  with  vigor. 

The  pipe  should  at  some  stage  of  the  work  be  carefully 
inspected  for  cracks,  which  are  oftenest  found  at  the  spigot 
end.  If  a  crack  in  a  spigot  end  is  very  slight  and  so  short  as 
to  be  more  than  covered  by  the  bell,  we  may  not  think  it 
worth  while  to  cut  the  pipe,  but  a  long  crack  obliges  us  to 
waste  nearly  twice  its  length  of  pipe,  for  the  cut  must  be 
made  at  least  six  or  eight  inches  above  the  visible  end  of  the 
crack,  and  even  then  the  jar  of  cutting  may  cause  the  crack 
to  run  still  farther  into  the  sound  metal. 


CHAPTER     IV. 

PIPE-LAYING  AND  JOINT-MAKING. 

Laying  Cement- Lined  Pipe — "  Mud"  Bell  and  Spigot —  Yarn — 
Lead —  Jointers  —  Roll —  Calking  —  Strength  of  Joints  — 
Quantity  of  Lead. 

CEMENT-LINED    PIPE. 

\XTROUGHT-IRON  pipe  after  being  lined  with  cement  is 
not  ready  for  immediate  use.  It  should  be  allowed 
to  dry  for  one  or  two  weeks,  the  time  varying  with  the 
weather,  and  the  readiness  with  which  the  mortar  sets,  and  a 
careful  man  will  not  subject  the  finished  pipe  in  the  trench  to 
pressure  for  five  weeks  after  laying,  unless  the  pressure  be 
very  light.  No  derrick  is  needed  in  laying  this  pipe,  for  if 
circumstances  do  not  allow  the  men  on  the  bank  to  hand  the 
lengths  to  their  comrades  in  the  trench  as  easily  as  they  could 
lift  a  piece  of  stove-pipe,  two  pieces  of  rope  will  furnish 
means  for  easy  lowering. 

The  cement  bed  and  covering  is  "  mud,"  in  the  language 
of  a  cement-pipe-laying  gang,  and  is  mixed  sand  and  cement, 
three  to  two,  in  a  mixing-box  on  the  bank. 

It  may  be  conveyed  in  the  trench  in  any  convenient 
manner  ;  in  V-shaped  troughs,  ten  feet  long,  with  handles  at 


CEMENT-LINED     PIPE.  47 

each  end,  or  in  pails,  or  in  wheelbarrows.  Before  placing  a 
length  of  pipe,  a  bed  of  a  dozen  pailfuls  of  cement  is  spread 
along  the  bottom  of  the  trench,  thicker  than  the  covering 
desired,  and  the  pipe,  with  the  rivets  down,  is  pressed  firmly 
into  it ;  "  mud  "  is  then  brought  in  sufficient  quantities  to 
allow  the  pipe  to  be  plastered  an  inch  in  thickness,  leaving 
the  joints  uncovered.  The  cement  is  spread  with  rubber 
mittens,  and  the  men  in  the  trench  who  handle  the  "  mud  " 
wear  rubber  leggings. 

The  joints  are  covered  with  pure  cement,  and  are  often 
made  by  the  foreman  of  the  pipe-layers,  who  can  easily  keep 
ahead  of  his  men,  for  to  a  practiced  hand  the  operation  is 
simple  aid  rapid. 

The  exposed  pipe-ends  are  first  covered  with  cement  even 
with  the  finished  pipe,  and  a  sheet-iron  sleeve  is  then  slipped 
along  so  that  its  centre  is  directly  over  the  joint.  A  pin  of  %- 
inch  wire  stuck  into  the  trench  will  locate  the  butt  joint  of 
the  two  pipes,  and  make  the  placing  of  the  sleeve  an  easy  and 
certain  matter,  and  the  sleeve  is  then  in  turn  covered  with  the 
pure  cement. 

This  pure  cement  will  crack,  perhaps,  and  must  be  patched, 
and  for  this  the  regular  "  mud  "  will  answer. 

To  protect  the  covering  from  too  sudden  drying,  the  pipe 
should  be  lightly  covered  as  soon  as  it  is  laid,  but  the  final 
covering  should  be  delayed  forty-eight  hours. 

The  specials  for  cement-lined  pipe  can  be  made  by  any 
good  sheet- iron  worker. 

Tee  and  Y  branches  are  to  be  soldered  at  their  junction 
and  strengthened  by  knees  of  %-inch  flat  iron,  one  inch  wide, 
riveted  to  the  metal. 


48  JOINT-MAKING. 

Plugs  are  simple  cylinders  filled  solid  with  "mud,"  but  they 
are  to  be  braced  in  the  trench  with  a  heavy  stone. 


JOINT-MAKING. 


There  is  not,  to  my  knowledge,  any  standard  form  for  a 
cast-iron  pipe-bell  or  socket.  This  is  unfortunate.  The  lack 
of  agreement  in  this  particular  is,  it  is  true,  not  nearly  so  un- 
fortunate as  the  still  greater  lack  of  uniformity  which  prevails 


FIGURE  15. 


in  the  thicknesses  which  are  specified  for  cast-iron  pipe,  but  a 
standard  is  desirable. 

The  general  form  of  a  bell  and  spigot  pipe-joint  is  shown 
in  Figure  15. 

In  practice,  the  two  lines  which  in  the  sketch  run  through 
the  word  "  and  "  should  form  one,  and  they  will  when  the 
spigot  end  is  pushed  "home."  A  space  is  left  in  the  sketch 


JOINT-MAKING.  49 

to  make  the  parts  more  distinct.  A  water-tight  joint  capable 
of  standing  great  pressure  is  secured  by  using  a  soft  compres- 
sible substance  in  combination  with  molten  lead.  For  the  first 
substance  one  may  use  jute,  hemp,  old  rope,  old  rigging,  oakum, 
or  almost  anything  of  this  nature,  as  the  principal  office  of  the 
"yarn,"  as  it  is  oftenest  called,  is  to  prevent  the  molten  lead 
from  running  into  the  pipe.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the 
yarn  in  the  joints  of  a  distributing  system  may,  by  its  compres- 
sibility, serve  to  mitigate  the  shocks  which  come  from  the  water- 
hammer,  and  again  that  the  yarn  will  in  time  decay  and  may 
then  furnish  feeding-ground  for  noxious  animal  or  vegetable 
life  which  may  appear  at  one  time  or  another  in  any  water- 
supply. 

At  present  these  suggestions  belong  to  that  class  of  prob- 
lems which  are  of  special  interest  to  the  investigator.  Of  the 
first  we  may  say  that  it  has  a  reasonable  appearance,  and  of 
the  second,  that  if  it  be  true  the  elastic  cushion  is  lost  when 
decay  is  complete. 

The  writer's  experience  has  led  him  to  adopt  for  yarn  the 
article  known  to  the  cordage  trade  as  i2-thread  Russia  gasket, 
tarred. 

A  larger  size  may  be  needed  for  24-inch  and  48-inch  pipe, 
but  the  i2-thread  has  worked  well  on  all  sizes  up  to  and  in- 
cluding i6-inch. 

For  lead,  use  any  soft  pig,  such  as  the  "  Omaha  "  or  the 
"  Aurora  "  brands. 

in  a  gang  of  fifty,  one  man  can  find  enough  to  do  in  yarn- 
ing and  pouring  the  joints.  Let  tne  yarn  be  cut  into  pieces 
long  enough  to  go  around  trie  pipe  and  lap  a  little. 


50  JOINT-MAKING. 

The  yarner  takes  a  bundle  ot  these  '•  ends  "  as  large  as  he 
can  conveniently  carry  from  one  bell-hole  to  the  next,  a  couple 
of  cold  chisels,  a  yarning-iron,  and  a  hammer,  and,  going  to  the 
first  joint  that  is  ready,  he  should,  to  begin  with,  see  that  the 
joint-room  is  even,  or  alike  all  around  the  pipe,  and  if  it  is  not 
the  chisels  should  be  driven  into  the  small  places  so  as  to 
crowd  the  pipes  into  line.  This,  of  course,  provided  the  pipes 
are  intended  to  be  in  line,  and  one  is  not  trying  to  get  around 
a  curve  by  "  taking  it  out  of  the  joints."  The  relative  amounts 
of  lead  and  yarn  to  be  used  per  joint  do  not  seem  to  be  deter- 
mined by  any  hard-and-fast  rule.  Referring  to  Figure  15  we 
can  see  that  there  is  little  except  stiffness  gained  by  putting  in 
more  than  enough  lead  to  reach  back  of  the  semi-circular 
groove,  say  one-quarter  or  one-half  an  inch,  so  that  the  depth 
and  form  of  the  bell  must  determine  to  a  great  degree  the 
exact  depth  of  lead  in  the  joint. 

Yarn  is  cheaper  than  lead,  but  the  time  consumed  in  yarn- 
ing may,  with  lead  at  a  very  low  figure,  make  it  cheaper  to 
put  in  only  a  shred  of  yarn  and  save  time  by  filling  up  the 
joint  with  lead. 

I  think  some  contractors  have  figured  in  this  way,  for 
joints  of  their  making  which  I  have  had  occasion  to  dig  up 
seem  to  have  been  made  upon  that  principle. 

Tarred  stuff  of  some  sort  packs  better  and  is  easier  to 
handle  than  dry  rope  or  strings.  The  tarred  Russia  gasket, 
bought  in  loo-pound  coils,  is  convenient  to  use  for  slings  and 
lashings,  and  is  just  as  good  as  ever  for  yarning  after  any 
other  use.  To  guide  the  molten  lead  into  the  joint,  we  must 
have  either  a  "  roll "  made  of  ground  fire-clay  upon  a  rope- 
yarn  core,  or  a  jointer.  If  a  jointer  is  used,  the  yarner  carries 


JOINT-MAKING.  51 

it  with  him  in  the  trench,  but  a  clay  roll  must  be  kept  in 
shape  and  ready  for  use  by  the  lead-boy.  The  patent  jointers 
are  made  of  canvas,  rubber,  and  sheet-steel.  They  are  very 
convenient,  and  can  be  obtained  of  dealers  in  water-works 
supplies.  They  are  especially  useful  in  wet  places,  for  they 
do  not  easily  blow  out  if  a  little  steam  is  formed,  and  the  clay 
roll  will  frequently  give  trouble  in  this  particular.  For  mak- 
ing a  good  clay  roll  we  require  finely-ground  fire-clay,  a  piece 
of  board  somewhat  longer  than  the  finished  roll,  a  strand  of 
rope,  and  a  pail  of  water.  Mix  two  double  handfuls  of  the 
clay  into  dough,  and  after  enough  kneading  to  get  out  the 
lumps,  roll  the  mass  into  a  short  thick  club.  With  a  stick  or 
a  chisel  cut  a  slit  lengthwise  of  the  club  and  half-way  through 
it,  and  lay  therein  a  strand  of  rope  a  foot  longer  than  the  out- 
side circumference  of  the  pipe.  Bring  the  two  edges  of  the 
slit  together,  and  then,  by  working,  stroking,  squeezing,  wet- 
ting, and  rolling,  the  roll  may  be  drawn  out  to  an  inch  in 
diameter,  and  eight  or  ten  inches  longer  than  the  outside  cir- 
cumference of  the  pipe.  This  roll-making  is  the  work  of  the 
lead-boy,  who  should  keep  the  roll,  when  not  in  use,  lying  on 
the  board  covered  with  a  wet  cloth,  and  mend  and  wet  it  as 
the  wear  and  tear  demand.  When  he  has  packed  the  proper 
amount  of  yarn  into  the  joint,  the  yarner  should  call  out 
"  roll "  to  the  lead-boy,  who  will  bring  him  the  roll  by  the  two 
rope-ends. 

The  roll  is  wrapped  about  the  pipe  close  to  the  bell,  bring- 
ing the  two  ends  on  top,  and  turning  them  out  along  the  pipe, 
forming  a  convenient  pouring-hole.  The  roll  should  be 
pressed  firmly  into  place  against  the  bell,  and  the  molten  lead 
poured  in  not  too  rapidly.  The  lead  should  be  hot  enough  to 


52  JOINT-MAKING. 

run  freely,  and  the  furnace  should  be  frequently  moved,, so 
that  the  hot  lead  need  not  be  carried  far  enough  to  give  it 
time  to  cool.  After  the  joint  appears  to  be  full,  and  the  roll 
has  been  removed,  the  yarner  should  examine  the  joint  care- 
fully all  around,  and  especially  on  the  bottom,  to  make  sure 
that  the  joint  is  well  filled  ;  and  if  a  cavity  is  found  it  should 
be  filled  by  a  second  pouring  if  possible,  or  by  a  plug  of  cold 
lead.  The  calker  follows,  and  should  begin  on  the  joint  by 


FIGURE  TO. 


using  his  chisel,  cutting  off  the  lump  at  the  pouring-hoie,  and 
then  driving  the  tool  lightly  between  the  lead  and  the  surface 
of  the  pipe  all  around.  Having,  by  this  operation,  lifted  the 
lead  away  from  the  pipe,  he  begins  with  the  smallest  tool  and 
drives  back  the  lead,  a  little  at  a  time,  all  round,  and,  follow- 
ing with  the  larger  tools,  sets  the  metal  in  firmly  with  strong, 
even  blows. 


JOINT-MAKING.  53 

Calking  is  hard  work  and  needs  a  muscular  man  to  follow 
it  steadily,  but  it  is  not  enough  that  he  be — 

"  Darby  shire  born  and  Darbyshire  bred, 
Strong  in  the  arm  and  thick  in  the  'ed," — 

for  he  should  know  when  a  joint  is  right ;  but  above  all  he 
must  be  trustworthy  and  faithful,  and  certain  to  call  attention 
to  any  joint  that  he  cannot  get  into  proper  shape  without  help. 
The  quantity  of  power  required  to  pull  apart  a  well-made  bell 
and  spigot  joint  will  surprise  one  who  sees  it  measured  for  the 
first  time. 

In  the  experience  which  the  writer  has  had  in  endeavoring 
to  pull  apart  such  joints  the  amount  of  force  applied  has  not 
been  measured  with  exactness,  but  a  heavy  clamp-jack  having 
a  pair  of  1 24 -inch  screws  with  four  threads  to  the  inch,  worked 
with  a  lever  about  thirty-six  inches  long,  was  insufficient  to 
pull  apart  any  but  pipe  from  which  the  rim  or  bead  on  the 
spigot  end  had  been  cut  off  so  as  to  leave  a  smooth  end. 

Some  notion  of  the  force  applied  to  the  joints  by  this  clamp- 
jack,  Figure  16,  may  be  had  by  using  the  formula  for  power 
exerted  by  screw  given  in  Goodeve's  Mechanics  : 

•w  r 
P  =  —  tan  (a  -I-  0), 

in  which 

P  *=  power  applied  at  end  of  lever. 

r  =  mean  radius  of  screw-thread. 

a  =»  length  of  lever. 

a  =  angle  of  thread. 

0  =  angle  of  repose. 

tan  0  =•=  coefficient  of  friction. 

TV  =  force  exerted  by  screw. 

Then, 

Pa 

W  ~  r  tan  (  a  +  0  ) 


54 


JOINT-MAKING. 


In  Figure  17,  let  B  A  represent  the  developed  circumfer- 
ence of  the  cylinder  on  which  thread  is  traced,  and  P  A  the 


FIGURE  17. 


pitch   of   the   thread,  and    P    B   A  =  a  =  angle  of  thread. 
Then 

P  A 

tan   «  =  —  —  and  substituting  the  values  for  this  case,  calling 
Jj  A 

•Ll/2  inches  the  mean  diameter  of  the  screw  thread, 

r  «=  T70Bff  inch.     P  A  —  Jft  inch. 

.225 
tan  r  —  ^-^  =  .053  and  a  =  3    2  . 

tan  6  =  .08  and  6  =  4°  35'. 
6  -J-  a  =  7°  37'.     tan  a  -f  0  —  .133724. 
P  =  100  pounds,     a  =  36  inches. 
P  a  3,600 


.75  X  .134 


P°'Unds- 


This  formula  makes  no  account  of  the  power  expended  in 
overcoming  friction  at  the  pivot  end  of  the  square-threaded 
screw,  and  the  result  above  given  should  be  reduced  15  or  20 
per  cent. 

The  same  clamp-jack  has  been  found  useful  in  pushing  a 
hydrant  off  its  branch  for  repairs. 

As  to  the  quantity  of  lead  used  in  joint-making  on  cast-iron 
pipe  the  following  notes  are  offered.  Four  streets  having  a 


JOINT-MAKING.  55 

total  length  of  3,112  feet  of  6-inch  pipe  consumed  1,997 
pounds  of  lead,  or  ffo  pound  per  running  foot.  Two  streets, 
1,796  feet  of  8-inch  required  1,514  pounds  of  lead,  or  ^ 
pound  per  running  foot. 

During  the  past  season  the  writer  has  directed  the  laying 
of  10,000  feet  of  i6-inch,  1,915  feet  of  8-inch,  1,479  ^eet  °f 
6-inch,  1,817  feet  of  4-inch  pipe.  For  purposes  of  this  calcu- 
lation it  is  fair  to  say  that  the  quantity  of  lead  varies  directly 
as  the  diameter  of  the  pipe,  and  that  the  above  is  equivalent 
to  11,927  feet  of  i6-inch  pipe,  and  to  make  the  joints  on  this 
23,579  pounds  of  lead  were  used,  or  1.97  pounds  per  running 
foot.  This  is  larger,  as  of  course  it  would  be,  than  the  amount 
given  by  a  single  experiment  on  a  short  piece,  for  ten  pigs 
weighing  96.7  each  (average  weight)  filled  the  joints  on  550 
feet  of  i6-inch,  or  1.75  pounds  per  running  foot. 

The  quantity  of  yarn  used  is  not  large,  comparatively 
speaking,  and  on  the  three  small  sizes,  4,  6,  and  8  inch,  with 
the  price  at  ten  cents  per  pound,  T%  of  a  cent  per  foot  is  a  safe 
figure  for  estimating  purposes. 

The  quantity  of  pipe  laid  and  the  number  of  joints  made 
in  a  day  will,  of  course,  vary  greatly  in  different  cases.  If  a 
man  is  trying  to  see  how  many  pipes  he  can  get  into  a  trench, 
with  the  minimum  amount  of  thought  as  to  how  they  are  put 
in  and  jointed,  he  can  make  a  wonderful  record,  and  the  man 
who  comes  after  him,  and  has  to  take  care  of  the  pipe-line 
under  the  shocks  of  service,  will  appreciate  more  keenly  than 
any  one  else  the  value  of  such  a  record. 

The  following  notes  of  actual  work  are  offered,  not  in  any 
sense  as  instances  of  model  performance,  but  as  simple  illus- 


56  JOINT-MAKING. 

trations  :  Time,  July  6,  1887  ;  gang  60  men,  i6-inch  pipe,  2 
yarners,  2  calkers,  4  to  10  men  digging  bell-holes,  30  bell-holes 
per  day,  400  feet  of  pipe  laid  and  jointed  in  ten  hours. 


CHAPTER   V. 

HYDRANTS,  GATES,  AND  SPECIALS. 

OTREET  intersections  are  obviously  suitable  places  for 
hydrants  and  gates. 

A  hydrant  so  placed  serves  more  territory  than  one  placed 
midway  between  cross  streets,  and  at  the  intersection  of  impor- 
tant thoroughfares  and  large  mains  the  four-way  hydrants 
carrying  four  hose-nozzles  are  in  every  way  suitable,  if  post- 
hydrants  are  chosen. 

For  the  narrow  crowded  streets  of  a  large  city  the  flush 
hydrants  are  better  than  the  post,  but,  as  a  rule,  the  small 
water-works  which  have  sprung  up  all  over  the  country  during 
the  last  few  years  are  fitted  with  hydrants  of  the  post  pattern. 

If  a  post  hydrant  is  not  placed  near  a  street  corner,  it  is 
well  to  put  it  on  a  division  line  between  two  estates,  for  the 
chances  that  it  will  in  the  future  be  an  obstruction  are  smaller 
in  this  position  than  they  can  well  be  in  any  other.  The  dis- 
tance apart  for  hydrants  may  be  200  or  500  feet,  according  to 
circumstances,  but  the  larger  distance  should  not  be  exceeded 
without  the  best  of  reasons. 

It  has  become  a  well-established  custom  to  place  gates  on 
street  lines,  and  the  ease  with  which  gates  so  placed  can  be 


«8  HYDRANTS,  GATES,  AND  SPECIALS. 

found  is  a  sufficient  reason  for  not  departing  from  the  custom 
except  in  some  special  cases.  In  unpaved  streets  a  gate-box 
located  at  a  corner  on  a  street  line  may  be  a  source  of  trouble 
if  the  travel  about  the  corner  is  considerable,  for  the  wearing 
of  the  road  will  soon  leave  the  box  projecting  above  the  sur- 
face to  a  dangerous  extent.  In  cases  where  this  condition  of 
things  is  likely  to  obtain,  the  writer  has  thought  it  wise  to 
move  the  gate  ten  feet  away  from  the  street  line,  and  it  is  fair 
to  ask  if  a  uniform  distance  of  ten  feet  would  not  have  some 
advantages  over  a  strict  adherence  to  street  lines. 

The  superintendent  or  the  engineer  or  his  assistant  should 
follow  the  pipe-laying  gang  closely  enough  to  locate  every  gate 
and  special  before  it  is  covered  by  the  back-filling  gang.  If 
one  should  perchance  miss  the  location  of  something,  he  will 
be  both  surprised  and  amused  to  see  how  wild  and  yet  how 
confident  will  be  the  guesses  of  a  bystander  who  saw  the  gate 
covered  the  day  before,  and  then  tries  to  assist  one  in  find- 
ing it. 

In  locating  and  making  notes  for  future  reference,  a  little 
judgment  is  required  to  enable  one  to  choose  permanent  and 
easily-found  landmarks. 

Fences  and  stone-bounds  come  first,  as  a  rule,  and  the  post- 
hydrants  furnish  excellent  measuring  points.  Lamp-posts  are 
reasonably  permanent,  but  trees  and  hitching-posts  illustrate 
the  "  mutability  of  human  affairs  "  of  Dominie  Sampson.  A 
rough  sketch,  with  no  regard  to  scale,  will  be  found  more  intel- 
ligible after  sixty  days  than  a  written  description. 

As  a  rule,  it  does  not  pay  to  build  gate-boxes  so  that  a  man 
can  get  into  them  to  oil  and  pack  the  gates.  In  paved  streets 
where  digging  is  both  expensive  and  inconvenient  for  the 


HYDRANTS,  GATES,  AND  SPECIALS.  59 

public,  large  brick  manholes  are  of  course  demanded,  but  for 
town  and  country  the  cast-iron  gate-boxes,  well  known  to  the 
trade,  leave  little  to  be  desired. 

The  writer  has  heard  of  main-pipe  specifications  which 
called  for  a  bed  of  concrete  under  each  gate  and  hydrant. 
Under  a  hydrant  in  wet,  uncertain  ground  the  concrete  may 
have  some  value,  but  under  a  gate  there  seems  to  be  no  call  for 
it ;  indeed,  it  may  be  a  source  of  trouble  should  the  pipe  settle  a 
little  and  the  gate  be  unable  to  follow.  When  a  hydrant  is 
placed  in  an  ideal  manner,  it  has  a  firm  foundation  in  a  large 
flat  stone  or  good  earth,  good  backing  of  stone  or  well- 
rammed  earth  and  perfect  drainage.  If  a  sewer  is  not 
available,  fair  drainage  may  be  secured  by  surrounding  the 
base  of  the  hydrant  with  broken  or  round  stone,  provided  "the 
ground  has  any  absorbing  power,  and  'in  clay,  a  small  well  may 
be  sunk  at  some  distance  from  the  hydrant,  enough  below  it 
and  of  sufficient  diameter  to  contain  three  or  four  times  as 
much  water  as  the  hydrant-barrel  will  hold.  A  small  drain  is 
then  run  from  the  hydrant  to  the  well  and  the  well  is  pumped 
out  as  often  as  need  be. 

Frost-jackets  seem  to  be  going  out  of  fashion.  Without 
doubt  they  have  little  value  in  sandy  or  gravelly  soils.  In  clay 
the  action  of  the  frost  may  be  expended  on  the  jacket  and  so 
save  the  barrel  some  straining,  but  men  of  experience  are  not 
wanting  who  declare  that  the  use  of  frost-jackets  may  be  safely 
abandoned. 

Generally  speaking,  the  plugs  for  main  pipe  furnished  by 
the  foundries  are  unnecessarily  heavy,  unless  made  from 
special  patterns. 


6o 


HYDRANTS,  GATES,  AND  SPECIALS. 


In  Figure  18  is  shown  the  pattern  adopted  and  used  by 
the  writer  for  the  past  five  years. 


MAIN  PIPE.  PLUG, 

FIGURE  18. 


The  following  table  gives  the  dimensions  for  plugs  to  be 
used  with  four,  six,  eight,  and  ten  inch  pipe  : 


Size  of  Pipe. 

D 

B 

H 

T 

t 

d 

4.  . 

6 

i/o 

v 

u 

6      .  : 

*!*/ 

6 

5 

it 

V 

V 

8 

6 

14 

V 

3 

10.  

\\v 

10 

6 

2 

«/ 

i/ 

A 

The  sleeve  shown  in  Figure  19  differs  from  the  ordinary 
pattern  only  in  having  an  inside  rim  which  furnishes  a  sup- 
port against  which  the  joints  can  be  made.  The  diameter  of 
this  rim  should  be  fixed  with  some  care  and  with  reference  to 
the  outside  diameter  of  the  pipe  with  which  the  sleeve  is  to 


HYDRANTS,  GATES,  AND  SPECIALS. 


61 


be  used  ;  for  unless  the  sleeve  will  slip  over  a  pipe  from  which 
the  spigot  end  has  been  cut,  the  chief  advantage  of  this  special 
casting  will  be  lost. 


PIPE  SLEEVE 

FIGURE  19. 


Sleeves  are  all  but  indispensable  in  bringing  two  parts  of  a 
pipe-line  to  a  junction  between  two  rigid  points,  and  they  may 
be  found  useful  in  assisting  one  to  use  up  pieces  of  pipe  with- 
out bells.  Some  foundries  make  their  special  castings  with 
bells  all  around,  while  others  send  out  their  single  and  double 
branches,  with  spigots  on  one  end  of  the  main  run.  The 
writer  has  found  the  "bells  all  round  "  pattern  to  be  the  most 
economical  in  the  way  of  using  up  the  pieces,  but  on  every  job 
of  magnitude  cases  will  arise  in  which  the  spigot-end  special 
will  save  cutting  pipe. 

If  practicable,  main-line  junctions  should  be  made  with 
specials  a  size  or  two  larger  than  the  pipe — that  is,  two  8-inch 


62  BACK-FILLING. 

lines  may  cross  each  other  at  right  angles,  though  a  lo-inch 
double  branch,  and  the  New  Bedford  pipe  plan  by  Mr.  Cog- 
geshall,  given  in  a  previous  chapter,  furnishes  another  case  in 
point. 

BACK-FILLING. 

The  best  possible  work  in  back-filling  a  trench  is  done  with 
water,  but  oftener  than  not,  perhaps,  we  must  be  content  with 
ramming  and  tamping  the  dry  earth.  If  time  enough  is  put 
into  it,  and  there  is  only  one  man  shoveling  to  each  man  with 
a  tamp,  good  work  can  be  done  without  water,  but  such  a 
method  is  expensive,  and  with  contractors,  as  a  rule,  it  is  not  in 
favor.  The  best  results  with  dry  earth  are  obtained  when  the 
dirt  is  spread  evenly  in  layers,  not  more  than  six  inches  thick, 
and  each  layer  is  thoroughly  tamped  and  trodden  before 
another  is  added. 

If  he  works  as  he  should,  the  man  in  the  trench  will  find  the 
pounding  and  treading  harder  than  shoveling,  and  to  even 
things  the  shoveler  and  tamper  may  change  places  several 
times  during  the  day.  If  water  is  used  it  should  not  be  in 
such  excess  as  to  make  "  pudding "  in  the  trench,  and  the 
amount  of  wetting  must  be  proportioned  to  the  absorbing 
power  of  the  filling.  The  water  does  its  work  by  carrying 
down  the  fine  particles  of  earth  as  it  soaks  away,  and  more 
than  enough  to  do  this  thoroughly  is  not  needed. 

If  the  trenching  has  been  properly  done,  the  top  of  the 
street — that  is,  the  good  gravel,  or  the  macadam — has  been  put 
by  itself  on  one  side  and  should  be  raked  over,  and  the  stones 
and  fine  material  separated  ;  the  stones  to  be  put  in  just  under 
the  surface  which  is  to  be  finished  with  the  fine  material.  The 


BACK-FILLING.  63 

amount  of  crowning  to  be  given  the  top  of  trench  should 
depend  upon  the  thoroughness  with  which  back-filling  has  been 
done,  the  size  of  the  pipe,  and  the  character  of  the  soil.  If  a 
trench  has  been  well  filled  a  rise  of  six  inches  is  ample,  and  if 
this  does  not  settle  down  even  with  the  road  after  one  or  two 
hard  rains  it  will  have  to  be  cut  down  if  the  road  surveyor  does 
not  want  to  wait  for  wear  and  tear  to  level  it.  Some  contract- 
ors prefer  to  fill  without  much  tamping,  crown  the  trench  a 


FIGURE  20. 


foot,  and  then  either  repair  the  road  after  a  month  or  two  or 
deposit  with  the  superintendent  of  streets  a  sum  large  enough 
to  cover  the  cost  of  repairs.  If  sand  has  been  taken  from  the 
trench  it  will  ruin  any  road  if  allowed  to  come  near  the  surface, 
by  working  up  through  a  thin  layer  of  good  road  material.  If 
sheet  piling  has  been  used  it  may  be  removed  after  the  trench 
is  half  filled  by  means  of  a  clamp  and  lever  shown  in  Figure  20. 
A  4x6  stick,  a  piece  of  chain,  and  a  pile  of  blocks  may  be  made 


64  FILLING  NEW  PIPES. 

to  do  the  same  work,  but  not  so  conveniently.  The  apparatus 
shown  in  Figure  20  is  copied  in  part  from  a  blue  print  pre- 
sented at  one  of  the  meetings  of  the  New  England  Water- 
Works  Association  by  Mr.  William  B.  Sherman,  M.  E.,  of 
Providence,  R.  I.  The  horse  should  be  well  braced  with  iron 
rods,  and  may  be  protected  on  top  by  a  plate  of  light  tank- 
iron. 

FILLING    NEW    PIPES. 

Pipes  should  be  filled  slowly  and  carefully,  because  under 
certain  conditions  great  damage  may  be  caused  by  too  rapid 
filling.  A  long  line  should  be  filled  one  section  at  a  time,  and 
no  gate  before  an  empty  section  should  be  fully  opened  until 
positive  evidence  can  be  had  that  the  section  is  filled.  If  the 
iine  to  be  filled  carries  hydrants,  the  air  can  be  allowed  to 
escape  through  them,  but  if  these  outlets  cannot  be  had  air- 
cocks  on  the  summits  are  necessary. 

A  special  form  of  air-cock  can  be  had  in  the  market,  but 
for  ordinary  use  any  convenient  form  of  corporation  cock  may 
serve  the  purpose  by  arranging  a  lever-handle  and  a  blow-off 
pipe  to  be  operated  at  will.  In  concluding  the  main-pipe 
division  of  his  subject  the  writer  presents  in  Figure  21 
sketches  of  a  tool  wagon  for  use  in  main-pipe  or  sewer  con- 
struction. The  drawings  are  made  from  blue  prints  presented 
by  Mr.  R.  C.  P.  Coggeshall,  Superintendent  of  the  New  Bed- 
ford, Mass.,  Water-Works,  at  one  of  the  meetings  of  the  New 
England  Water- Works  Association. 

TOOL-WAGON. 

R.  C.  P.  Coggeshall,  Superintendent,  New  Bedford  Water- Works. 

This  tool-wagon  was  planned  by  Mr.  Ashley,  foreman  of  this  depart- 
ment, and  was  built  by  the  regular  employees  during  the  winter  months,  at 
Intervals  whenever  an  hour  or  two  could  be  spared.  The  cost  as  given 


TOOL-WAGON. 


StCTlON    ON  C-0 

FlGURF.  21. 


66 


TOOL-WAGON. 


below  would  in  consequence  probably  exceed  the  amount  at  which  this 
tool-wagon  could  be  built  by  contract. 

ESTIMATE  OF  COST. 

Set  of  wheels  and  pole $31  oo 

Axles,  $10  ;  bolts,  $3   13  oo 

Door-pulls,  soc.,  4  bolts  $1.40 i  90 

6  pair  hinges,  $i  ;  4  pair  back-flap?,  4oc I  40 

7  pair  strap-hinges,  $1.33  ;  I  dozen  hooks,  6oc i  93 

3  chain  bolts,  goc, ;  10  feet  chain,  $i i  90 

Screws,  $4.16;  nails,  $2.15 631 

303  feet  i-inch  matched  pine,  planed 15  58 

153  feet  i-inch  matched  spruce 3  52 

130  feet  2-inch  spruce,  planed 2  33 


Blacksmithing 

Labor  and  painting. 


30  49 
105  oo 


Amount $214  36 


4  sets  of  lead  and  gasket  irons, 
4  drilling  hammers. 

1  stone  hammer, 

2  dozen  cold  chisels, 
6  diamond  points, 

6  cutting-out  irons, 
12  joint  wedges. 


CONTENTS. 

Goose-neck, 

Paving-pounder  and  hammer, 

3  stone  chains, 

3  wheelbarrows  of  wood, 

2  buckets  of  clay, 

6-foot  measuring-stick. 


2. 


4  lengths  hose. 


40  picks  and  shovels, 
3  stone  sledges, 
6  striking  hammers, 

Hydrant  key, 


4- 


20  dinner-pails. 


Tackle, 

Nails  and  hammers. 

6. 

Small  locker  for  spare  tools, 
Plug  drill  box, 
9  lanterns  and  oil-can. 


7- 


Can,  powder  and  fuse,  3  hoes,  coil  gasket,  6  pigs  lead,  furnace,  2 
barrels  coke,  lead  kettle  and  spoon,  bell  pole,  saw,  tamping  bar,  12  buckets, 
6  lantern  sticks,  4  iron  bars,  14  blowing-drills. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SERVICE-PIPES. 

Definition  —  Materials — Lead  vs.  Wrought  Iron — Tapping 
Mains  for  Services  —  Different  Joints  —  Compression 
Union  Cups. 

TD  Y  common  consent  and  general  usage,  the  term  service- 
pipe  is  applied  to  the  tube  which  conveys  water  from 
the  street-main  to  the  premises  on  which  it  is  to  be  used.  In 
the  majority  of  cases  the  service-pipe  proper  ends  just  inside 
the  cellar  wall,  and  the  term  house-pipes  is  a  suitable  one  to 
apply  to  the  tubes  which  convey  the  water  from  that  point  to 
the  various  fixtures  in  the  building. 

There  seems  to  be  substantial  agreement  among  those  best 
qualified  to  judge  that  lead  is  the  most  suitable  material  for 
service-pipes,  but  in  spite  of  this  the  first  cost  of  lead  pipe  and 
the  popular  prejudice  which  is  often  found  against  it  has  pre- 
vented its  adoption  in  many  recently  constructed  works.  This 
is  not  the  place  for  a  thorough  discussion  of  the  subject,  but 
those  who  care  to  follow  it  are  referred  to  a  paper  by  Mr. 
Walter  H.  Richards,  C.  E.,  Engineer  and  Superintendent  of 
the  New  London,  Conn.,  Water- Works,  which  was  published 


68  SERVICE-PIPES. 

in  the  transactions  of  the  New  England  Water- Works  Associa- 
tion for  1884,  and  to  Professor  Nichols'  "  Water-Supply  from 
a  Chemical  Standpoint." 

Lead  pipe  is  to  be  preferred  because  it  is  the  most  dura- 
ble, the  most  easily  worked,  and  the  smoothest  pipe  now  in 
the  market.  Its  substitutes  are  plain  wrought  iron,  tarred 
or  enameled  wrought  iron,  galvanized  iron,  and  wrought  iron 
lined  with  cement. 

One's  choice  really  lies,  then,  between  lead  pipe  and 
wrought-iron  pipe  with  some  protecting  coating.  Tin-lined 
lead  pipe  is  not,  to  the  writer's  way  of  thinking,  worthy  of 
much  consideration.  The  tin  lining  is  thin  and  easily  broken 
in  working,  and  if  the  lead  be  exposed  at  any  point  the  chance 
for  some  galvanic  action,  followed  by  the  formation  of  lead 
carbonate  or  lead  oxide,  is  too  great  to  be  taken.  If  any 
combination  of  chemical  and  physical  reasons  in  some  special 
case  should  render  lead  pipe  unadvisable,  a  perfect  though 
expensive  substitute  may  be  found  in  pure  block-tin  pipe. 

The  experience  of  every  city  and  town  which  uses  lead  for 
service-pipe  is,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  that  a  thin  brownish 
insoluble  coating  soon  forms  on  the  interior  walls  of  the 
pipe,  and  then  all  further  action  ceases.  The  cities  of  New 
York  and  Philadelphia ;  Boston,  Worcester,  New  Bedford,  Fall 
River,  in  Mass.;  Denver,  Col.,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  Chicago,  111., 
Wilmington,  N.  C.,  to  go  no  further  in  this  country,  and  Glas- 
gow and  Manchester  abroad,  use  lead  pipe,  and  this  considera- 
tion would  seem  to  dispose  of  the  question  as  to  its  healthful- 
ness,  leaving  only  the  question  of  cost  to  be  considered,  and 
upon  this  latter  point  Mr.  Richards'  paper  referred  to  gives 
some  interesting  figures. 


TAPPING.  69 

TAPPING. 

Except  for  special  reason,  a  main  should  not  be  tapped  for 
service-pipes  until  it  has  been  filled  and,  better  still,  if  possi- 
ble, not  until  it  has  been  thoroughly  flushed. 

Cast-iron  pipes  must  be  entered  by  means  of  some  sort  of 
tapping  machine.  There  are  several  machines  for  this  work 
upon  the  market,  and  one  will  not  make  a  mistake  in  buying 
any  one  of  them,  provided  it  is  offered  by  trustworthy  parties. 
It  is  well  to  bear  in  mind,  in  selecting  a  machine,  that  it  is  to 
be  carried  about,  and  perhaps  knocked  about  ;  that  it  is  to  be 
used  in  all  sorts  of  trenches,  wet  and  dry,  muddy,  sandy,  and 
rocky,  and,  therefore,  that  it  should  be  light,  strong,  simple, 
and  with  as  few  wearing  parts  to  collect  sand  and  grit  as 
possible.  It  will  be  well  for  any  man  who  taps  a  pipe  under 
pressure  for  the  first  time  to  choose,  if  he  can,  a  section  which 
can  be  easily  shut  off,  for  it  will  be  nothing  strange  if  he  has 
to  shut  down  and  take  off  the  machine  to  get  the  cock  into  the 
pipe.  Printed  directions  for  operating  are  furnished  with  each 
machine,  and  a  week's  work  will  make  one  independent  of  them. 
That  which  is  screwed,  soldered,  or  driven  into  the  main 
pipe  is  the  corporation  cock ;  at  the  sidewalk  we  have  the 
curb  or  sidewalk  cock,  and  just  inside  the  cellar  wall  should 
be  placed  the  house  shut-off,  or  stop  and  waste  cock. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  Boston  Water- Works  sidewalk  cocks 
were  not  used,  and  to  shut  off  the  premises  wholly  from  the 
main  the  Water  Department  was  obliged  to  dig  down  to  the 
corporation  cock.  This  condition  of  things  was  unsatisfac- 
tory, and,  under  the  direction  of  Assistant  Engineer  Brackett, 
sidewalk  cocks  are  being  inserted. 


TO  TAPPING. 

As  to  the  house  shut-off  just   inside  the  cellar  wall,  there 
seems   to  be   no   good  reason  why  the  Water  Department,  or 


1 

>4 
K 

If 

I 

£     * 

V,    £ 

\ 

§  fc 

£  £ 

\\ 

„.  h 

\ 

II 

\ 
\ 

FIGURE  22. 


the  water  company,  should  furnish  that,  except  to  secure  uni- 
formity and  a  first-class  fixture.    That  there  should  be  a  good, 


TAPPING.  71 

sound,  easy-working  shut-off  cock  at  that  point  there  is  no 
sort  of  doubt,  but  who  should  furnish  it  may  be  left  as  an 
open  question.  In  Taunton  it  is  furnished  by  the  consumer. 

Referring  to  Figure  22,  in  which  is  represented  the  partic- 
ular pattern  of  corporation  cock,  with  full  24 -inch  way 
designed  by  the  writer,  for  use  upon  the  Taunton  Water- 
Works,  the  end  M  is  the  end  which  is  screwed  into  the  main. 
The  general  form  of  this  end  is  the  same  no  matter 
what  is  used  for  service-pipe.  Something  is  saved  in 
the  cost  of  manufacture  by  using  the  same  thread  at 
S  and  M.  Eleven,  twelve,  fourteen,  or  sixteen  threads  to 
the  inch  are  admissible,  but  fourteen  has  been  found  to  give 
good  results  in  the  practice  of  the  writer.  At  the  end  S  and 
in  the  parts  immediately  following  there  is  room  for  great 
variation  in  form  and  method.  With  the  nut  u  (shown  also  in 
section)  and  the  tail-piece  forming  a  ground  union-joint  at 
the  end  S,  this  form  of  cock  may  be  used  (i)  with  lead 
service-pipe  by  making  a  wiped  joint  or  a  cup-joint  between 
the  lead  pipe  and  the  tail-piece  ;  or  (2)  with  any  kind  of 
wrought-iron  service-pipe  by  joining  on  to  the  tail-piece  a 
short  piece  of  lead  pipe,  perhaps  18  inches,  just  as  if  the  ser- 
vice were  to  be  of  lead  pipe,  and  then,  by  attaching  a  solder- 
ing nut,  as  shown,  and  continuing  the  line  with  screw-joint 
pipe. 

There  is  a  form  of  corporation  cock  in  the  market  in  which 
the  end  S  has  a  female  connection  so  that  wrought-iron  pipe 
may  be  screwed  directly  to  the  cock  without  the  intervention 
of  lead  pipe,  but  this  form  cannot  be  recommended  for  gen- 
eral use,  because  the  flexibility  of  lead  pipe  is  needed  to  insure 
safety  against  overstraining  from  settlement  in  the  trench. 


72  TAPPING. 

In  addition  to  the  joints  made  with  lead  pipe  by  wiping  or 
cupping,  there  is  one  which  may  be  called  the  compression- 
joint.  Some  regard  this  joint  as  to  be  preferred  to  any  joint 
which  depends  upon  solder,  but  the  writer's  experience  does 
not  lead  him  to  take  this  view  of  it. 

The  compression-joint  was  in  use  a  few  years  ago  in 
Taunton,  but  was  abandoned  for  a  cup-joint.  The  corpora- 
tion-cock then  in  use  was  shaped  at  the  end  S  like  the  pro- 
jecting part  of  N  in  the  compression-joint  shown  in  Figure 
22,  and  tightness  was  secured  by  scraping  the  outside  of  the 
lead  pipe  to  a  reasonably  smooth  surface,  so  that  the  cone- 
shaped  nut  would  draw  the  lead  pipe  firmly  over  the  conical 
projection  ;  the  lead  pipe  having  been  first  spread  by  driving 
in  a  solid  plug. 

It  is  evident  that  this  principle  can  be  applied  in  a  variety 
of  ways,  and  that  castings  can  be  designed  to  fit  any  combina- 
tion of  materials.  For  example,  the  cup-joint  in  Figure  22 
shows  how  a  wrought-iron  service-pipe  may  be  joined  to  a 
lead  connection  from  the  corporation-cock.  The  lead  pipe  is 
attached  by  a  wiped  or  cup  joint  to  the  soldering  nut,  which 
is  tapped  out  to  receive  any  size  of  wrought  iron  or  brass  pipe 
that  one  chooses. 

Still  another  form  of  joint  has  been  brought  to  my  atten- 
tion, by  Mr.  J.  G.  Briggs,  Superintendent  of  Water- Works  at 
Terre  Haute,  Ind.,  and  shown  also  in  Figure  22,  as  a  union 
lead  joint.  Mr.  Briggs  says  the  idea  is  not  a  new  one,  but 
was  used  twenty  years  ago  or  more  by  an  English  company 
who  did  a  large  amount  of  work  at  ,  Rio  Janeiro,  Brazil,  and 
that  in  San  Francisco  the  joint  has  been  used  for  sixteen 
years  with  good  results.  The  lead  pipe  is  put  through  the 


TAPPING.  73 

brass  thimble,  and  the  end  hammered  or  riveted  over  on  a  pin 
made  for  the  purpose,  and  tightness  secured  by  a  washer.  If 
this  washer  be  of  lead  it  will  last,  but  it  would  seem  as  though 
a  leather  or  a  rubber  washer  would  be  too  short-lived  to  be 
wholly  satisfactory.  As  to  the  merits  of  this  joint  the  writer 
has  no  practical  knowledge,  but  the  fact  thbt  Mr.  Briggs  favors 
it  would,  in  the  vernacular  of  the  stock  market,  be  counted  as 
a  "  bull  point "  for  it 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SERVICE-PIPES  AND  METERS. 

Wiped- Joints  and  Cup- Joints —  The  Lawrence  Air -Pump— -  Wire- 
Drawn  Solder — Weight  of  Lead  Service-Pipe — Tapping 
Wrought-Iron  Mains — Service-Boxes — Meters. 

r  I  "HE  regulation  wiped-joint  is  one  of  the  awful  mysteries 
of  the  plumber's  craft,  and  a  description  of  its  making 
would  avail  but  little.  It  is  the  plumber's  shibboleth,  and  if 
one  of  the  trade  can  be  found  who  will  admit  that  any  other 
joint  is  its  equal  he  may  be  counted  as  one  out  of  many.  It  is 
not  to  be  denied  that  in  many  instances  nothing  can  equal  in 
appearance  and  fitness  a  well-wiped  joint,  and  a  thorough 
workman  certainly  knows  how  to  make  one  ;  but  a  well-made 
cup-joint  is  equally  strong — perhaps  stronger — does  not  require 
a  tenth  part  of  the  solder,  and  is  made  more  quickly  and  with 
less  practice. 

A  cup-joint  is  shown  in  Figure  22,  and  is  made  by  expand- 
ing the  end  of  the  lead  pipe  with  a  properly  shaped  plug, 
scraping  the  inside  of  the  cup  with  a  jack-knife  to  give  a  sur- 
face of  clean  metal,  dropping  a  soldering  nut  or  tail-piece, 
properly  tinned,  into  the  cup,  heating  the  whole  joint  by  some 
appropriate  method,  and  finally  by  filling  the  thin  annular 


SERVICE-PIPES  AND  METERS.  75 

space  between  the  cup  and  the  tinned  brass  casting  with  melted 
solder.  If  these  details  are  properly  executed  a  perfect  joint 
is  the  result.  The  writer  has  had  several  of  these  joints  sawn 
in  two  and  the  bond  is  then  seen  to  be  perfect. 

This  joint  was  brought  to  the  writer's  attention  by  Mr. 
Dexter  Brackett,  Assistant  Engineer  of  the  Boston  Water- 
Works,  and  a  study  of  the  method  and  its  results  will  show 
that  this  is  not  a  "tinker's  joint,"  for  it  is  used  in  Boston, 
Lawrence,  New  Bedford,  and  Taunton  by  the  water  depart- 
ments of  those  cities,  who  have  no  sort  of  reason  for  using  any 
methods  or  materials  but  the  best. 

The  only  portions  of  the  process  of  cup-joint  making  which 
call  for  special  mention  are  the  method  of  heating  the  joint 
and  the  kind  of  solder  to  be  used. 

We  should  note  in  passing,  however,  that  while  the  plug  is 
being  driven  to  form  the  cup,  that  this  end  of  the  lead  pipe 
should  be  firmly  held  in  a  vise  between  two  cast-iron  half- 
round  clamps  that  are  cut  out  to  correspond  with  the  outside 
shape  of  the  cup.  When  under  these  circumstances  the  plug 
is  driven  home,  the  lead  forming  the  walls  of  the  cup  is  com- 
pressed, and  anything  like  a  blister  or  defect  has  a  chance  of 
being  closed. 

For  heating,  Mr.  Brackett  uses,  or  did  use,  a  sweating-iron, 
and  so  did  the  writer  until  Mr.  Henry  W.  Rogers,  formerly 
Superintendent  of  the  Lawrence  Water- Works,  introduced  a 
blow-pipe  and  air-pump  apparatus,  which  is  a  great  improve- 
ment in  speed  and  convenience  over  a  pair  of  hot  irons. 

The  air-pump  and  the  blow-pipe  or  lamp  are  shown  in 
Figure  23.  A  jet  of  water,  whose  size  may  vary  with  the 
pressure  under  which  it  is  to  be  used  and  the  work  to  be  done, 


76  SERVICE-PIPES  AND  METERS. 

from  T^-inch  to  %-inch,  induces  a  current  of  air  to  enter  the 
tee,  and  water  and  air  together  enter  the  separating  chamber 
C  made  of  2-inch  brass  or  iron  pipe.  The  water  flows  off 
through  the  trap  or  bent  pipe  to  waste  and  the  air  through  the 
smaller  pipe  to  the  lamp  or  blow-pipe.  When  the  apparatus 
is  in  operation  the  outlet  for  the  air  is  so  small  that  air  accu- 
mulates in  the  separating  chamber  and  forces  the  water  down 


'i  firfwrvc  r/foJJrfw.^  TO 


tt«~,~~,.~».~}y.^j^ 

Jf*  ri i  r  8fi.ow  Cn»*oe*  *»e *t  WWA^  TO  /t pCl^7  i£tei  w/r* /<j 

&fML£*  ?>rf.      ***.(*  SHO& 

FlGfRE    23. 


T,nn  tofti  Sno*  rtt  w 


below  the  the  top  of  the  trap  a  distance  depending  on  the 
special  conditions  which  exist  in  any  given  case  ;  and  the 
pressure  under  which  the  air  accumulates  is  measured  by  the 
difference  between  the  heights  of  the  two  water  columns  in 
C  B  and  T  B.  The  lamp  is  a  Bunsen  burner  and  the  quantity 
of  air  from  the  pump,  and  of  common  gas  from  a  convenient 


TAPPING  WROUGHT-IRON  MAINS. 


77 


jet,  may  be  so  regulated  as  to  produce  a  flame  hot  enough  to 
make  a  bit  of  chalk  glow  like  a  calcium  light.  In  fact  there  is 
an  excess  of  heat  for  joint-making  purposes,  and  a  little  expe- 
rience will  be  required  to  prevent  one  from  getting  the  metals 
so  hot  as  to  cause  the  solder  to  run  through. 

A  very  convenient  form  in  which  to  use  the  solder  is  that 
given  by  drawing  the  common  sticks  into  wire,  about  ^6-inch 
in  diameter.  Wire  solder  has  been  for  sale  at  a  high  price, 
and  a  large  consumer  would  find  it  cheaper  to  build  a  small 
mill  and  draw  the  wire  for  himself  than  to  pay  twenty-five  cents 
per  pound. 

There  seems  to  be  no  standard  weights  for  the  various 
sizes  of  lead  pipe,  and  an  examination  of  a  "  Table  showing 
weights  of  lead  service-pipes  used  in  various  cities,"  which  was 
compiled  by  Mr.  William  B.  Sherman,  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  as 
an  appendix  to  Mr.  Richards'  paper  before  referred  to,  will 
show  more  clearly  than  anything  else  the  absence  of  uniformity. 

For  any  but  excessive  pressures,  exceeding  150  pounds  per 
square  inch,  the  following  weights  will  be  found  sufficient : 


Size  Inches 

i/' 

*A 

3/ 

I             i!/ 

III 

Weight  per  foot.  ..Pounds 

3 

& 

4 

4^    I    5^ 

i 

7 

TAPPING    WROUGHT-IRON  MAINS. 

There  are  more  different  methods  of  tapping  cement- 
lined  or  coated  wrought-iron  pipe  of  any  sort  than  of  tapping 
cast-iron  mains.  Cast  iron  is  seldom  less  than  half  an  inch  in 
thickness,  but  with  wrought  iron  the  actual  thickness  of  metal 
is  one  quarter  of  an  inch  or  less,  and  it  is  evident  that  such 


78  TAPPING  WROUGHT-IRON  MAINS. 

different  conditions  call  for  different  treatment.  Figure  24 
shows  in  section  the  apparatus  used  for  tapping  wrought-iron 
kalamein  pipe,  used  by  Mr.  Frank  E.  Hall,  Superintendent  of 
the  Quincy,  Mass.,  Water  Co.,  and  to  whom  I  am  indebted 
for  a  drawing  of  the  machine.  A  packing  of  sheet-lead  is  put 
between  the  clamp  and  the  pipe  at  the  point  to  be  drilled,  and 
if  tightness  is  not  secured  by  screwing  the  nuts  down  hard, 
the  lead  can  be  calked  up. 


FIGURE  24. 


With  cement-lined  pipe  a  similar  clamp  may  be  used,  and 
such  a  clamp  is  a  regular  article  of  trade.  A  corporation 
cock  may,  however,  be  soldered  or  wiped  directly  on  to  the 
wrought-iron  pipe  without  any  clamp,  and  this  is  now  the  prac- 
tice in  many  places.  A  small  portion  of  the  outside  coating 
of  cement  is  carefully  broken  away,  the  pipe  is  thoroughly 
cleaned  and  tinned,  the  cock  is  then  attached  to  the  main  by 


SERVICE-BOXES—METER?.  79 

soldering  with  an  ordinary  iron,  or  by  wiping,  and  then,  with 
an  arrangement  similar  to  that  shown  in  Figure  24,  a  hole  is 
drilled,  passing  the  drill  through  the  opened  cock.  After  per- 
toration  the  drill  is  withdrawn  just  far  enough  to  allow  the 
tapper  to  close  the  cock,  and  then  the  tapping  apparatus  is 
removed,  the  stuffing-box  at  P  having  kept  the  water  back 
during  the  operation.  Any  convenient  form  of  drill  may  be 
used,  but  Figure  22  shows  the  form  used  at  Plymouth, 
Mass. 

SERVICE-BOXES. 

Considerable  ingenuity  has  been  expended  in  efforts  to 
devise  a  cheap  and  satisfactory  service-box.  Wood  was, 
naturally  enough,  one  of  the  first  materials  to  be  chosen,  and 
scored  at  first  an  apparent  success  when  the  stock  was  kyan- 
ized,  but  even  if  the  preserving  process  proved  to  be  in  some 
cases  successful,  the  frost  made  stumbling-blocks  of  the  boxes 
by  throwing  them  above  the  sidewalk  level.  Combinations  of 
drain-pipe,  light  and  heavy  castings,  and  wrought-iron  pipe 
with  cast-iron  bases  might  be  described,  but  none  of  them,  so 
far  as  the  writer  can  judge,  are  any  better,  if  as  good  as  a 
simple  cast-iron  box  in  two  principal  parts  sliding,  telescope 
fashion,  one  inside  of  the  other.  The  extension  shut-off  boxes, 
well  known  to  the  trade,  give  entire  satisfaction,  and  at  the 
price  at  which  they  are  now  offered  it  will  hardly  pay  for  any 
one  to  design  a  new  pattern  for  any  but  special  cases. 

METERS. 

Of  making  many  meters  there  has  been  no  end,  and  much 
experience  with  some  of  them  is  a  weariness  to  the  flesh.  Of 
the  six  hundred  or  more  that  have  been  patented,  six  or  less 


8o 


METERS. 


have  come  to  any  extensive  use  in  this  country,  but  in  the 
value  of  that  half  dozen  the  writer  has  an  abiding  faith. 


FIGURE  25. 

The  important  points  in  setting  a  meter  are  perfect  pro- 
tection against  freezing,  a  firm  support,  accessibility,  and  in 


METERS.  81 

oome  cases  protection  against  meddlesome  fingers.  Too  much 
care  cannot  be  exercised  in  the  first  of  these  points,  for  a  frozen 
meter  is  worth  its  weight  in  junk  only,  as  a  rule,  and  meters 
have  been  known  to  freeze  in  cellars  in  which  the  potatoes  (so 
the  owner  said)  never  froze.  If  a  house  is  to  be  metered,  and 
the  cellar  is  without  a  furnace,  the  safest  place  for  the  meter 
is  just  below  the  cellar  bottom,  and  if  the  ground  is  too  wet  to 
allow  this,  and  draining  the  cellar  is  out  of  the  question,  then 
a  tight  double  box,  with  a  2-inch  air-space,  affords  the  next 
best  solution. 

Even  if  a  house  is  not  to  be  metered>  it  often  is  wise  to 
enter  the  service-pipe  from  the  street  below  the  cellar  bottom, 
as  this  affords  protection  to  the  pipe  and  secures  cooler  water 
in  summer.  In  some  cases  the  only  place  for  a  meter  is  in  a 
driveway,  a  sidewalk,  or  a  lawn,  and  in  such  cases  a  brick  well 
with  a  cast-iron  cover,  the  whole  costing  nearly  $25,  offers  the 
best  arrangement,  as  shown  in  Figure  25. 

Meters  should  be  well  supported,  either  by  a  hanging  shelf 
or  a  brick  pier  if  one  wishes  to  avoid  all  chance  of  springing 
the  joints  or  the  shell  of  a  meter. 

With  lead  pipe  there  is,  of  course,  not  the  chance  to  hang 
the  meter  by  the  pipe  that  there  is  when  iron  or  brass  is  used. 
It  is  quite  important  that  a  meter  be  so  constructed  as  to  have 
the  inlet  and  outlet  in  the  same  line,  and  the  distance  from 
face  to  face  of  the  inlet  and  outlet  points  exactly  the  same  on 
all  meters  of  the  same  size,  for  the  best  have  to  come  out 
once  in  a  while  for  repairs  or  cleaning,  and  then,  with  proper 
construction,  a  piece  of  pipe  may  take  the  place  of  the  meter, 
with  no  inconvenience  to  the  consumer. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

NOTES  ON  THE  CONSTRUCTION  OF  ABOUT  TWO 
MILES  OF  16-INCH  WATER-MAIN. 

HTHESE  notes  are  offered  because  the  writer's  experience 
has  led  him  to  believe  that  detailed  statements  of  cost 
and  of  methods  are  not  overabundant,  and  that  a  modest  con- 
tribution to  this  department  of  engineering  literature,  even  if 
it  border  on  the  commonplace,  will  not  be  unwelcome. 

The  city  of  Taunton,  Mass.,  is  supplied  by  direct  pumping, 
and  there  is  no  store  of  water  for  any  emergency.  The  pump- 
ing-machinery  is  in  two  portions,  and  under  any  ordinary  con- 
ditions either  portion  is  competent  to  maintain  the  supply,  but 
we  cannot,  of  course,  be  content  with  provision  for  nothing 
but  ordinary  conditions. 

For  that  district  of  the  city  which  is  more  distant  from  the 
Dumping-station  and  higher  than  the  City  Square,  the  distrib- 
uting portion  of  the  system  has  been  for  some  time  inade- 
quate, and,  moreover,  the  small  pipes  have  made  it  impossible 
for  the  city  to  receive  from  a  powerful  pumping  plant  belong- 
ing to  a  manufacturing  establishment  in  that  district  the  aid 
which  might  be  rendered  should  the  public  pumping-machinery 
.become  disabled.  The  need  for  a  new  and  larger  main  arising 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  WATER-MAIN.  83 

from  the  foregoing  conditions  was  easily  made  evident  to  the 
proper  authorities,  and  its  construction  was  ordered. 

The  line  was  surveyed  by  the  writer  with  one  assistant  in 
April,  1887,  and  the  accompanying  illustration  shows  the  main 
in  plan  and  profile,  with  its  immediate  connections. 

The  pipe  began  to  arrive  in  May,  and  was  carted  on  low 
two-horse  trucks  for  64  cents  per  gross  ton,  over  good  roads, 
for  an  average  distance  of  about  ij£  miles. 

Referring  to  the  plan,  the  work  from  A  to  B  was  without 
special  features  or  difficulties.  With  the  exception  of  a  short 
stretch  of  quicksand  and  water  at  and  near  the  first  turn  north 
of  A,  the  digging  was  good  and  the  trench  required  no 
bracing.  The  distance  from  A  to  B  is  2,927  feet,  and  the  cost 
of  labor  for  this  section  was  32.3  cents  per  lineal  foot.  This 
includes  all  labor  charged  on  the  time-book,  from  the  foreman 
to  the  water- boy  in  a  gang  of  about  sixty  men. 

From  the  point  B  to  the  end  of  the  line  at  E,  an  8-inch 
main  was  removed  and  a  temporary  supply  maintained,  so  that 
no  consumer  on  the  line  was  without  water  for  more  than  an 
hour  or  two  at  any  one  time.  That  the  sections  requiring 
temporary  supply  might  be  as  small  as  possible,  two  gaps  in 
the  distributing  system  were  closed  ;  the  first  one  on  Broad- 
way north  and  south  of  Jefferson  Street,  between  points  F  and 
G  ;  and  the  second  between  the  dead  ends  on  Pleadwell  Street 
and  on  Fourth  Avenue,  which  were  brought  to  a  junction,  as 
shown  on  the  plan.  The  first  connection  gave  Jefferson, 
Madisoti,  and  Monroe  Streets  a  continuous  supply  while  Bay 
Street  was  cut  off,  and  the  second  made  possible  a  temporary 
surface  connection,  indicated  by  the  dotted  line,  from  Fourth 


84  CONSTRUCTION  OF  WATER-MAIN. 

Avenue  to  Third  and  Fifth  Avenues,  which  came  in  use  when 
Whittenton  Street  was  cut  out. 

It  is  to  be  understood,  of  course,  that  Washington  Street 
continues  in  a  northerly  direction  (see  plan),  and  by  cross  lines 
completes  a  circuit  for  Whittenton,  Bay,  and  adjoining  streets. 

The  profile  makes  the  proper  positions  for  the  blow-offs 
self-evident,  and  they  are  all  six  inches  in  size.  The  only 
portion  of  the  pipe  that  cannot  be  drained  by  the  blow-offs  is 
found  on  Whittenton  Street  a  few  feet  east  of  the  line  of  the 
Old  Colony  Railroad,  where  a  short  trap  exists,  because  of  our 
unwillingness  to  disturb  and  wholly  relay  a  first-class  lo-inch 
drain  which  had  been  put  in  by  the  street  department. 

While  this  departure  from  the  grade  destroys  the  perfect 
drainage  at  which  we  had  aimed,  it  will  probably  in  actual 
practice  be  found  to  be  of  no  real  importance. 

The  position  of  the  main  1 6-inch  gates  is  shown  on  both 
plan  and  profile  ;  they  are  of  the  ordinary  upright  bell-end 
Chapman  pattern,  not  geared,  with  the  exception  of  the  one 
on  Bay  Street,  near  Maple  Avenue,  where  the  shallow  trench 
obliged  us  to  use  a  geared  gate  lying  on  its  side. 

At  two  or  three  points  the  stems  of  the  upright  gates  came 
so  near  the  street  surface  that  the  only  box  which  could  be 
used  was  Morgan's  A  A  A  extension  valve-box,  or  one  of  like 
pattern. 

The  method  followed  in  maintaining  the  temporary  supply 
was  adopted  after  careful  consideration  of  three  alternative 
methods  ;  it  is  not  new,  for  since  this  work  was  finished  we 
learn  that  it  is  essentially  the  same  as  that  followed  by  Mr. 
Coggeshall  in  a  similar  case  in  New  Bedford. 


I 


fe6  ITEMS  OF  COST. 

A  temporary  supply  for  consumers  on  a  cut-out  section 
may  be  furnished  (i)  by  carrying  water  in  tubs  or  buckets 
from  the  nearest  available  hydrant ;  (2)  by  laying  a  screw- 
joint  pipe  along  the  curb  line,  with  stand-pipes  at  convenient 
intervals  from  which  the  consumers  can  draw  at  their  pleasure; 
(3)  by  laying  the  screw-joint  pipe  as  in  the  previous  case,  and 
then  connecting  each  service-pipe  by  means  of  hose  at  a  point 
near  the  corporation  cock.  The  last  method  was  adopted, 
and  it  is  made  clear  by  the  accompanying  sketch,  in  which  the 
conditions  represented  are  such  that  water  under  pressure 
comes  as  far  as  the  large  gate  in  the  trench.  The  section 
which  is  temporarily  shut  off  begins  in  front  of  the  large  gate 
and  extends  to  the  next  gate  on  the  old  line,  which  is  coming 
up,  or  to  a  point  on  the  old  line,  which  may  be  conveniently 
plugged  if  the  next  gate  is  too  far  away.  The  temporary  pipe 
near  the  curbstone  is  common  i^-inch  screw-joint  pipe  con- 
nected with  the  hydrant  by  i^-inch  hose  and  special  brass 
couplings,  and  supplies  i-inch  branches  taken  off  at  conve- 
nient points,  carried  down  as  shown,  and  connected  with  each 
service  by  ^-inch  4-ply  extra  heavy  rubber  hose  having 
special  couplings,  the  nuts  of  which  screw  directly  on  to  the 
end  of  the  i-inch  cement-lined  service-pipes,  making  a  joint 
with  a  leather  washer. 

ITEMS   OF    COST. 

Purchase  Street. — In  making  preliminary  estimates  it  is 
comparatively  easy  to  get  at  the  cost  of  materials,  but  the  cost 
of  labor  and  incidentals  is  oftentimes  uncertain  to  an  aggra- 
vating degree. 


ITEMS  OF  COST.  87 

The  following  figures  of  cost  of  labor  are  believed  to  be  as 
near  the  truth  as  it  is  practicable  to  get  them  without  employ- 
ing skilled  clerical  labor  in  keeping  time. 

Referring  to  the  plan  and  profile  it  will  be  seen  that  Pur- 
chase Street  for  more  than  half  its  length  is  straight  and 
practically  level  ;  it  is  forty  feet  wide,  and,  with  the  exception 
of  a  short  section  near  Broadway,  furnished  sandy  digging 
with  some  tendency  to  caving. 

The  crossing  of  the  brook  near  Bay  Street  and  the  locating  of 
the  blow-off  called  for  some  comparatively  deep  digging — say 
ten  or  twelve  feet  in  depth  for  100  feet.  The  old  8-inch  pipe 
was  removed,  and  eighteen  services  were  furnished  with  a  tem- 
porary supply,  and  the  total  labor  on  this  street  cost  $729.62. 
The  distance  is,  say,  2,100  feet,  so  that  the  cost  per  lineal  foot 
was  34.7  cents  for  the  section  between  B  and  C  on  the  plan. 

Bay  Street. — This  though  not  the  most  expensive  section 
was  the  most  troublesome,  for  the  difficulties  were  discourag- 
ing. The  street  is  forty  feet  wide,  has  a  horse-car  track 
running  through  its  entire  length,  with  cars  passing  about  once 
in  fifteen  minutes  ;  from  Maple  Avenue  to  Britannia  Street 
the  line  follows  a  sewer-trench  so  closely  that  the  caving  of 
the  banks  was  almost  constant.  The  digging  was  dry  and 
sandy.  The  sidewalk  on  the  west  side  was  appropriated  and 
all  the  excavated  material  was  piled  thereon  ;  planks  were 
thrown  across  the  trench  to  enable  the  occupants  of  houses  to 
pass  in  and  out,  and  hemlock  boards  against  the  open  fences 
kept  the  sand  and  gravel  from  the  grass  plots.  The  old  8-inch 
main  was  removed,  the  supply  maintained  for  fifty-three  ser- 
vices, the  movement  of  the  horse  cars  was  not  obstructed,  and 


88 


ITEMS  OF  COST. 


the  total  labor  cost  41.8  cents  per  lineal  foot — on  section  C  D 
on  plan. 

Whittenton  Street. — Here  the  digging  was  wet  and  dirty,  but 
as  the  street  is  65  feet  wide  there  was  ample  room.  Old  pipe 
to  remove,  temporary  supply  to  maintain  for  30  services,  and 


FIGURE  27. 

four  connections,  new  and  old,  made  for  the  Whittenton  Man- 
ufacturing Company  at  and  near  E  on  plan  made  the  total 
cost  of  labor  47.4  cents  per  lineal  foot.  The  mill  connections 
were  the  principal  causes  of  this  increase  in  cost. 


THE  TEMPORARY  SUPPLY.  89 

The  foregoing  figures  are  largely  in  excess  of  the  cost  of 
labor  on  ordinary  pipe  lines.  For  example,  a  detachment  from 
the  same  gang  of  men  who  laid  the  pipe  referred  to  above,  laid 
about  2,000  feet  of  8-inch  pipe  in  new  ground,  good  digging, 
at  a  cost  of  17.3  cents  per  foot  for  all  labor;  two  pieces  of 
4-inch,  each  about  530  feet  long,  for  13.1  cents  per  foot,  and 
600  feet  of  6-inch  for  15.38  cents  per  foot. 

THE    TEMPORARY    SUPPLY. 

The  cost  of  work  such  as  this  will,  of  course,  vary  greatly 
with  circumstances,  for  if  new  pipe  and  fittings  must  be  pur- 
chased the  cost  will  be  much  greater  than  it  would  be  if  old  ma- 
terial and  odd  pieces  can  be  worked  up. 

In  this  particular  case  we  bought,  expressly  for  this  work, 
about  half  of  what  we  used.  The  labor  for  the  temporary  sup- 
ply-pipes footed  u~>  to  $230.29,  or  about  3  cents  per  foot,  while 
the  new  material  purchased  cost  nearly  4  cents  per  foot  in 
addition.  A  little  less  than  7  cents  per  foot  for  the  7,800  feet 
of  pipe  required  for  the  temporary  supply  was  the  cost  as 
nearly  as  can  be  ascertained.  The  pipe  supplying  Third  and 
Fifth  Avenues,  from  the  hydrant  on  Fourth  Avenue,  was  laid 
on  the  surface  across  the  lots. 

The  total  cost  of  the  line  and  its  connections  may  be  stated 
as  follows  : 

i6-inch  pipe,  135  pounds  per  foot  (@  $34.50) $22,698  09 

6  and  4-inch  pipe 563  52 

Gates,  hydrants,  valves,  globe  special  castings  and 

sundries 7,728  56 

Old  style  special  castings 200  oo 

Labor , 4,429  02 

$35,6fQ  19 


CHAPTER    IX. 

TABLES     OF     COST. 

'T^HROUGH  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Dexter  Brackett,  C.  E., 
Superintendent  Eastern  Division  of  Boston  Water- 
Works,  I  am  able  to  present  detailed  dimensions  of  the  cast- 
iron  water-pipes  used  in  that  city,  together  with  a  table 
showing  the  cost  of  pipe-laying  under  Boston's  methods  and 
conditions  : 

Weights  and  Dimensions  of  Cast-Iron  Water-Pipes,  Boston  Water-  Works. 


n 

g 

$ 

O 

DIMENSIONS  IN  INCHES. 

Total 
length  . 

Total 
weight  of 
pipes. 

Weight  per 
running 
foot  laid. 

.2 

5 

a 

b 

c 

d 

' 

1 

Feet. 

Inch. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

4 

B 

•  50 

•30 

.65 

4.0 

•45 

0.40 

12 

4 

260 

21.7 

6 

B 

•  So 

.40 

.70 

4.0 

o  40 

12 

4 

418 

34.8 

8 

B 

.50 

•50 

•  75 

4.0 

•55 

0.40 

12 

4^ 

601 

TO 

B 

•50 

.60 

.80 

4-5 

.60 

0.40 

12 

815 

67.9 

12 

A 

•50 

.60 

.80 

4-5 

•58 

0.40 

12 

4* 

935 

77-9 

12 

B 

•50 

.70 

.85 

4-5 

•  ^5 

0.40 

12 

4% 

1,050 

87.  s 

16 

A 

•71 

.70 

.85 

.66 

0.50 

12 

5 

1,4^3 

117.7 

16 

20 

B 
A 

•75 
•75 

.00 

.90 

•95 
•95 

5*o 

-75 
•73 

0.50 

0.50 

12 
12 

5 

1,615 
i,945 

134-6 
162.1 

2O 

B 

•75 

.90 

•95 

*>  o 

•  8-; 

0.50 

12 

5 

2,252 

187.7 

24 

A 

.00 

.10 

•05 

.81 

0.50 

12 

5 

2.588 

215-7 

24 

B 

.00 

.10 

•  05 

5-o 

•9* 

0.50 

12 

5 

2,985 

248.8 

30 

A 

.00 

•30 

•15 

5-o 

•93 

0.50 

12 

5 

3,6oo 

307.5 

30 

13 

.00 

•30 

•15 

5.0 

.10 

0.50 

12 

5 

4,336 

361.3 

36 

A 

.00 

•  50 

•25 

50 

.04 

0.50 

12 

5 

4,929 

410.7 

36 

B 

.00 

•  50 

•25 

50 

•25 

0.50 

12 

5 

5,882 

490.2 

40 

A 

.00  (      .70 

•35 

12 

0.50 

12 

5,897 

491-4 

40 

B 

.00 

.70 

•35 

5-o 

•35 

0.50 

12 

5 

7,055 

587.9 

48 

.CO 

.70 

•35 

4.0 

.00 

o  50 

12 

4j 

6,266 

522.1 

48 

.00 

3-00 

•50 

5-5 

•  25 

0.50 

12 

7,917 

65,9.7 

60 

.25    3-40 

.70 

6.0 

•375 

0.50 

12 

6 

10.959 

913.2 

TABLES   OF   COST. 


FIGURE  28. 

y  =»  for  4-inch,  6-inch  and  8-inch  pipes  0.6  inch. 
44  lo-inch  and  i2~inch  u      0.8    " 

*'  larger  sizes  4t      0.85  " 


"  The  pipe-joints  are  composed  of  hemp  gasket  and  lead 
the  lead  being  about  2^  inches  in  depth  and  thoroughly 
calked.  The  quantity  of  lead  required  for  different  sizes  of 
pipe  can  be  expressed  by  the  formula  /=  2  d,  in  which  /== 
pounds  of  lead  per  joint,  and  d  =  diameter  of  pipe  in  inches, 
and  as  the  pipes  are  usually  twelve  feet  in  length,  the  quantity 
of  lead  required  per  lineal  foot  of  pipe  equals  one-sixth  of  the 
diameter  of  the  pipe  in  inches." 

The  average  cost  per  lineal  foot  of  water-pipe  laid  in 
Boston  is  shown  in  the  table  on  page  92. 

The  centre  of  pipe  is  laid  five  feet  below  surface  of 
ground.  Labor  at  $2  per  day.  Pipe,  i^  cents  per  pound. 
Special  castings,  3  cents  ;  lead,  5  cents  per  pound.  Cost  of 
rock  excavation,  $3.50  to  $5.50  per  cubic  yard,  measured  to 
neat  lines. 

By  permission  of  Mr.  Eliot  C.  Clarke,  C.  E.,  we  are  able  to 
present  the  following  useful  tables  of  cost  of  excavation  and 
brick-work.  These  tables,  with  others,  were  calculated  espe- 
cially for  sewer-work,  but  apply,  of  course,  to  water-conduits 
as  well,  and  the  compilation  of  them  was  made  for  use  during 


TABLES   OF   COST. 


surveys  made  for  the  Massachusetts  Drainage  Commission  in 
1885  : 


Cost  of  Handling  Water  per  too  Linear  Feet  of  Trench. 

5  feet 
Deep. 

10  feet 
Deep. 

15  feet 
Deep. 

20  feet 
Deep. 

25  feet 
Deep. 

SLIGHTLY  WET—  Hand-pump  

?6  oo 
7i  So 

$7  oo 
73  50 

$9  So 

7650 

$12    OO 

103  45 

$18  oo 
127  45 

QUITE  WET—  One   steam-pump  ;  one   line 
8-inch  pipe  at  2oc.  per  foot  ;  wells  every 
500  feet;  moving  engine,  etc.,  every  500 
feet  ;  rent  of  pump  and   engine,  $3   per 
day;  one  engineer,  $2  50  per  day;  fuel.. 

VERY  WET—  Two  steam   pumps;  iz-tnch 
pipe  at  36c.  per  foot  ;  wells  every  250  feet  ; 
two  engines;  three  engineers;  fuel  

117  oo 

119  oo' 

126  oo 

164  oo 

226  oo 

Average  Cost  per  Lineal  Foot  of  Water  Pipe  Laid  in  Boston. 


i 

B 

i 

Diameter  of  Pi 
Inches. 

Thickness. 
Inches. 

Weight. 
Pounds. 

Lead  ustd. 
Pounds. 

Cost  of  Pipe 
and  Specials 

Lead  Gasket  ai 
Blocking. 

Teaming. 

Labor,  Trenchi 
and  Laying. 

Total  Cost. 

4 

0.45 

21.7 

0.70 

$038 

$o  05 

$0  02 

$o  25 

$o  70 

6 

0.50 

35-    i.  oo 

57 

6 

3 

27       93 

8 

o-55 

50. 

1-35 

83 

8 

5 

3° 

i  26 

10 

0.60     68. 

1.70 

I  IO 

10 

6 

34      i  60 

12 

0.58-.  65 

78-88 

2.00 

i  27-1  42 

13 

7 

37 

i  84-1  99 

16 

0.66-.7S 

118-135 

2.70 

1  87-2  12 

17 

8 

45 

2  57-2  82 

7O 

°-73-  85 

162-188 

3-35 

2  55-2  94 

21 

9 

55 

3  4°-3  79 

24 

o  8I-.Q4 

216-250 

4.00 

3  44-3  95 

25 

10 

68 

4  47-4  98 

30 

o  93 

308 

5.00 

4  92 

29 

ii 

80 

6  12 

36 

1.04 

410 

6.00 

6  58 

34 

12 

I  OO 

804 

40 

1  .  12 

490 

6.70 

7  80 

40 

15 

i  30 

9  65 

48 

1-25 

660 

8.00 

10  40 

48 

20 

i  75 

12  83 

TABLES   OF   COST. 


93 


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96  TABLES   OF   COST, 

In  a  letter  to  the  writer  Mr.  Clarke  says  :  "  It  should  be 
understood  that  they  (the  foregoing  tables)  were  made  for  a 
special  purpose  and  are  of  limited  applicability.  Roughly 
approximate  results  were  all  we  needed.  Tables  were  based 
on  then  (1885)  existing  Boston  prices  for  materials  and  labor, 
and  average  conditions  affecting  work."  With  this  guiding 
statement  the  tables  may  be  safely  used  in  making  preliminary 
estimates. 


ENGINEERING  AND  QUILDING RECORD. 


(Prior  to  1887,   77ie  Sanitary  Engineer.) 


DEVOTED    TO 


ENGINEERING  AND  ARCHITECTURE. 

OF    SPECIAL    INTEREST    TO 

Engineers,  Architects,    Builders,    Contractors,  Mechanics, 
and  Municipal  Officers. 


THE  TREATMENT  OF  MUNICIPAL  PROBLEMS  A  PROMINENT  FEATURE. 


"  It  has  been  of  incalculable  value  to  the  general  public,  whose  interest  it  has 
always  served." — Cincinnati  Commercial. 

"  It  may  be  regarded  as  the  representative  paper  devoted  to  Architecture  and 
Engineering." — Boston  Herald. 

"  It  stands  as  a  fine  example  of  clean  and  able  journalism." — Railroad  Gazette. 

''  A  paper  whose  excellence  and  independence  merit  continued  prosperity." — 
Railroad  and  Engineering  Journal. 

"Congratulate  it  upon  the  enviable  position  it  has  attained." — American 
Machinist. 

Under  date  of  Tanuary  9,  1888,  General  M.  C.  Meigs,  formerly  Quartermaster- 
General,  U.  S.  Army,  and  recently  Architect  of  the  new  Pension  Building  at  Wash- 
ington, wrote  as  follows  : 

1239  VERMONT  AVENUE,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C.',          \ 

January  9,  1888.  f 
THE  ENGINEERING  AND  BUILDING  RECORD  : 

DEAR  SIRS:  I  enclose  check  for  $5.00,  for  which  please  send  me  "Steam 
Heating  Problems"  and  "Plumbing  and  House-Drainage  Problems."  I  will  be 
obliged,  also,  for  a  copy  of  your  No.  6,  Volume  XVII.,  January  7,  1888,  which  is  a 
capital  number,  just  read  and  sent  to  a  Western  engineer,  a  friend,  containing  much 
in  his  line  of  work. 

I  have  looked  at  the  Index  of  Volume  XVI.  It  is  a  marvelous  list  of  knowledge 
made  accessible  to  the  profession  at  small  cost  to  each  subscriber. 

I  congratulate  you  upon  producins  for  the  Building  trade  one  of  the  most  copious 
and  valuable  instructors  in.  sate  and  sanitary  building  science  in  all  branches  ever  pub- 
lished. 

Faithfully  yours,  M.  C.  MEIGS. 


Published  every  Saturday.  P.    O.    Box   3037,   NEW  YORK. 

$4  per  year.      IDC.  per  copy. 

N.  B. — An  attractive  feature  is  its  series  of  critically  selected  An  hitectum I  Illus- 
trations, artistically  rendered  and  handsomely  reproduced > 


COMMITTEES  intrusted  with  the  erection  of  Public  Buildings  and 
Engineering  Works  should  advertise  for  proposals  in  The  Engi- 
neering and  Building  Record.      They  will  thus  reach    Contractors  in 
every   State  and   Territory,  likewise    in    Canada.     The    advantage  of 
competition  thus  secured  is  obvious. 


A  COLLECTION  OF  DIAGRAMS 

Representing  the  General  Plan  of 

Twenty-Six  Different  Water-Works, 

Contributed  by  Members  of  the 

NEW     ENGLAND    WATER-WORKS    ASSOCIATION, 

And  Compiled  by  a  Committee. 


1887. 


INTRODUCTION. 

OFFICE  OF  SECRETARY, 

NEW  BEDFORD,  MASS.,  November  i,  1887. 

THIS  collection  of  diagrams  is  the  result  of  the  pers.stent  efforts  of 
Messrs.  William  B.  Sherman,  of  Providence,  R.  I  ,  and  Walter  H. 
Richards,  of  New  London,  Conn.,  who,  as  a  Committee  on  Exchange 
of  Sketches,  have  secured  these  drawings  from  members  of  the  Association. 
The  following  extract  from  a  report  presented  by  these  gentlemen  at  the 
Manchester,  N.  H.,  meeting  in  June,  1887,  will  explain  in  pare  the  origin 
of  the  collection  : 

''  In  answer  to  circular  letters  sent  out  to  members,  there  were  received 
rough  sketches  of  general  plans  of  twenty-three  water  works  represented  in 
the  Association.  Having  this  data  on  hand,  though  crude  in  many  particu- 
lars, it  was  decided  to  put  the  same  into  available  shape  for  the  benefit  of 
the  members.  This  has  been  accomplished  by  the  Committee  without  cost 
to  the  Association.  From  these  rough  sketches — revised,  reduced  to  uniform 
size  of  10  by  15  inches— a  set  of  tracings  has  been  made,  and  a  sample  folio 
of  blue  prints  prepared.  This  folio  and  set  of  tracings  are  herewith  presented 
as  forming  the  main  part  of  this  report." 

Since  the  Manchester  meeting  three  more  subjects  have  been  received 
and  subscriptions  for  sets  of  reproductions  from  tie  tracings  have  been 
called  for.  The  ready  response  to  the  call  is  evidence  of  the  value  of  the 
Committee's  work,  and  arrangements  were  made  with  The  Engineering  &* 
Building  i\ecord  for  publication  in  this  present  form. 

R.  C.  P.  COGGESHALL, 

Secretary,  New  England  Water- Works  Association. 
Published  by  THE  ENGI:  EEKI.,G  &  BUILDING  RECORD. 


PLATE  I. — Boston,  Mass. 

II. — Burlington,  Yt. 
III. — Cambridge,  Mass. 
IV.— Fall  River,  Ma 
V.  — Fitchburg,  Mass. 
VI.— Knoxville,  Tenn. 
VII. — Lawrence,  Mass. 
V11I.— Manchester,  N.  H. 
IX.  -Meriden,  Coim. 
X.— Middletown,  Conn. 
XI.-Milford,  Mass. 
XII.— Nantucket,  Mass. 
XIII.— Natick,  Mass. 


INDEX. 

>s. 

Pl.A 

k 

i. 

H. 

nn. 

>s. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 

XXI. 

XXII. 

XXIII. 

XXIV. 

XXV. 

XXVI 


-New  Bedford,  Mass. 

—  New  London,  Conn. 

—  New  Orleans,  La. 
— Pawtucket,  R.  I. 
— 1'lymouth,  Mass. 
— Quincy,  Mass. 

—  Spencer,  Mass 
—Springfield.  Mass. 
— Taunton,  Mass. 
— Waterbury,  Conn. 
— Wilmington,  N.  C. 
— Woonsocket,  R.  I. 
—Worcester,  Mass. 


Address,  BOOK  DEPARTMENT, 

THE  ENGINEERING  &  BUILDING  RECORD, 
P.  o.  Box  30^7.  No.  277  Pearl  Street,  New  York. 


SUMMER  &  GOODWIN, 

MANUFACTURERS    OF    AND    I'F.ALERS    IN 

PLAIN,  GALVANIZD,  TARRED  and  ENAMELED 

WROUGHT-IRON  PIPE. 

Brass  Goods  for  Water- Works  a  Specialty, 

SUCH  AS 

SIDEWALK  AMD  CORPORATION  COCKS,  GATE- 
TALVES,  ETC. 

ALSO    SERVICE    BOXES. 

15  TO  21  OLIVER  STREET,  BOSTON,  MASS. 


TURNER,  CLARKE  &  RAWSON, 
ENGINEERS  AND  CONSTRUCTORS  OF  WATER-WORKS, 

5    TREMONT    STREET, 

x" 

BOSTON 


PANCOAST  &  ROGERS, 

GENERAL    AGENTS     FOR 

READING  IRON=WORKS 

WROUGHT-IRON     PIPE,     BOILER-TUBES, 

ARTESIAN   AND 

OIL-WELL     TUBING,     CASING,     LINE-PIPE,     ETC. 
Special  Work  of  every  kind  in  Wrought-Iron. 

CHAPMAN  VALVE  MANUFACTURING  CO., 

Valves  and  Gates  for  Gas,  Steam,  Water,  Oil,  Etc.,  ^-inch  to 
48-inch  diameter.     Fire-Hydrants 

THE     WATERBURY     MALLEABLE     IRON     CO., 

Malleable  and  Gray  Iron  Fittings  for  Gas,  Steam  and  Water. 
Manufacturers'  Agents  for 

CAST-IRON 

WATER     AND     GAS     PIPES, 

SPECIAL    CASTINGS, 

AND    DEALERS    IN    SUPPLIES    OF    EVERY    DESCRIPTION. 
OFFICE     AND    WAREHOUSE: 

28   PLATT  6-    15    GOLD   STREETS,  NEW  YOJK. 

George  Ormrod,  Man.  and  Treas.  John  Donaldson,  Prest., 

Emaus,  ?a.  226  Walnut  St.,  Phila.,  Pa. 

EMAUS    PIPE    FOUNDRY. 

DONALDSON   IRON   CO., 

MANUFACTURERS  OF 


AND    SPECIAL    CASTINGS. 

EMAUS,    LEHIGH    COUNTY,    PA. 

All  Pipes  Cast  Vertically. 


NATIONAL    FILTER 


Used  in  connection  wich  the  National  system  of 
AERATION,  PRECIPITATION  and  FILTRA- 
TION, is  the  simplest  and  most  efficient  machine  on 
the  marke^. 

The  system  of  surface  washing  effects  such  an 
economy  in  time  and  water,  that  cities  using  filters  of 
other  make  are  now  having  us  alter  them  over  to  our 
National  system. 

Our  filters  and  system  have  been  adopted  by  the 
following  cities  within  the  past  eleven  months  : 

CHAMPAIGN,  ILL. 

CHATTANOOGA,  TENN. 
EXETER,  N.  H. 

HACKENSACK,  N.  J.          I  Aerat,o, 
HOBOKEN,  N.  J.        ["Aeration. 
KOKOMO,  IND. 

LAWRENCE,  KAN. 

LOUISIANA,  MO. 

MASSILLON,  O. 

SIOUX  FALLS,  DAK. 

WINNIPEG,  MANITOBA 

For  circulars,  testimonials  and  estimates  apply  to 

NATIONAL    WATER  PURIFYING  CO. 

145  BROADWAY,   Cor.  Liberty  St.,  NEW  YORK. 
Refer  by  permission  Henry  R.  Worthington,  86-88  Liberty  St.,  N.  Y. 


M.  J.  DRUMMOND, 


2  to  48-Inch  Diameter. 

FLANGE     PIPE,     RETORTS,     LAMP-POSTS,     STOP-VALVES, 
FlkE-HYDRANTS,   SPECIAL  CASTINGS. 

GENERAL  FOUNDRY  WORK. 

Office,     Equitable     Building,      )  20     Broadway, 

NEW    YORK. 

Sales  Agent  New  Philadelphia  Pipe  Works  Co. 


HE     NATIONAL    TUBE    WORKS    COMPANY 


Will,  on  request,  be  pleased  to  forward  to  any  person 
interested  in  water-works  construction,  operation,  or 
maintenance,  a  publication  recently  issued  giving  some 
remarkable  facts  and  records  of  actual  experience  in  the 
use  of  CONVERSE  PATENT  LOCK  JOINT  PIPE 
for  conveyance  of  Water  and  Gas,  which  has  enabled 
them  to  be  so  successful  in  the  introduction  of  Wrought 
Iron  Pipe  for  water-works  purposes. 

A.  H.  ROWLAND,  C.  E.,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  writes 
as  follows  regarding  his  experience  with  this  pipe  : 

"  Its  strength  and  semi-flexibility  make  it  secure  against  fracture 
or  rupture,  either  in  handling,  laying  or  service.  Of  the  some 
thirty-five  (35)  miles  of  it  that  I  have  laid,  I  have  riot  known  of  a 
single  case  of  injury  from  either  of  the  above  causes,  and  have  seen 
a  recorded  water  hammer  in  it  of  145  pounds  per  square  inch.  My 
impression  is  that  it  is  safe  to  use  under  very  excessive  pressures, 
even  approximating  300  pounds  per  square  inch. 

44  The  Converse  Patent  Lock  Joint  used  makes  an  almost  perfect 
continuity  of  the  interior  surface,  which  is  very  smooth  and  con- 
ducive to  large  carrying  capacity  for  any  given  size. 

"  Early  in  1883  I  laid  about  eight  (8)  miles  of  this  pipe,  coated 
with  Asphaltum.  The  soil  was  a  peculiar  mixture  of  clay  and  gravel, 
and  quite  moist.  On  account  of  a  street  being  graded,  we  were 
obliged  to  take  up  and  relay  about  one-half  (^)  mile  of  this  in  the 
fall  of  1884  and  it  was  found  to  be  perfectly  free  from  rust  or  corro- 
sion of  any  kind.  At  many  other  points  where  it  has  been  dug  up 
for  the  purpose  of  making  connections,  etc.,  it  has  always  been 
found  in  equally  good  condition. 

"Other  pipes  laid  at  various  times  have  given  equally  good  re- 
sults. 

BOSTON,  MASS.  CHICAGO,  ILL.  PITTSBURG,  PA. 

NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.  ST.  LOUIS  MO.  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


Illustrated  Catalogue  of  Fittings  with  detailed   Instruction  for  laying  pipe 
furnished  on  application. 


PARTIAL  RECORD  OF  PIPE  FURNISHED. 


From  the  list  of  hundreds  of  cities  and  towns  using  the  Converse 
Patent  Lock  Joint  Pipe,  the  following  is  submitted  as  a  matter  of 
interest  : 


Albuquerque  Water  Co.,  Albuquerque,  N.  M 
American  Water  Works  &  Guarantee  Co  ,  Ltd., 
Kearney,  Neb. 

Adrian  Water  Works,  Adrian,  Mich. 
Aberdeen,  City  of  Aberdeen,  D.  T. 
Allegheny  Heating  Co..  Allegheny  City,  Pa. 
Birmingham  Water  Co.,  Birmingham,  Ala. 
Braddock  Gas  &  Light  Co.,   Braddock,  Pa. 
B.  &  O.  R.  R.  Co.'s  Water  Supply. 
Bramerd  Water  &  Power  Co  ,  Brainerd,  Minn. 
Brockton  Gas  Co.,  Brockton,  Mass. 
Brpokville  Water  Co.,  Brookville,  Pa. 
Bridge  water  Natural  Gas  Co.,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 
Cors-can  Water  Co.,  Corsican,  Texas. 
Cambridge  Gas  Ligiit  Co  ,  Cambridge,  Ohio. 
Colorado  Springs  Gas  Co.,  Colorado  Springs,  Col. 
Colorado  Machinery  Co.,  Denver,  Col. 
Colorado  Machinery  Co.,  Buena  Vista,  Col. 
Colorado  Machinery  Co.,  Silverton,  Col. 
Canad  a i  Pacific  R'y  Co. 
Columbia  Water  Works,  Astoria,  Oregon. 
Capital  Gas  L'ght  Co.,  Des  Moines,  la. 
Chestertown  Waterworks,  Chestertown,  Md. 
Chartiers  Valley  Gas  Co.,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 
Charlestown  Water  Works  Co., 

Charlestown.W.  Va. 

Chamberlain,  City  of  Chamberlain,  D    1'. 
Dunham,  Carrigan  &  Co.,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 
Dixon  Water  Works,  Dixon,  111. 
Denver  &  Rio  Grande  R'y.  Co. 
El  Paso  Wat  rCo.   .El  Paso,  Texas. 
East  Dubuque  Water  Co.,  East  Dubuque,  la. 
Equitable  Gas  Co.,  New  York,  N.   Y. 
Ft.  Collins  Water  Works,  Ft.  Collins,  Col. 
Fair  Play  Water  Works,  Fa'r  Play,  Col. 
Freeport  Water  Works  Co.,  Freeport,  Pa. 
Ft.  Collins,  City  of  Ft.  Collins,  D.  T. 
Fergus  Falls  Water  Works,  Fergus  Falls,  Minn. 
Garcner  Water  Works,  Gardner,  Mass. 
Gonzales  Water  Co.,  Gonzales,  Texas. 
Gunmson  Gas  &  Water  Co.,  Gunnison,  Col. 
Glenwood,  City  of  Glenwood,  Minn. 
Greenville  Wat-r  Works,  Greenville,  III. 
Geneseo,  City  of  Geneseo,  111. 
Grand  Forks,  D.T. 
Helena  Water  Co.,  Helena.  M .  T 
Haddenfield  Water  Co.,  Haddenfield,  X.  J. 
Huron,  City  of  Huron,  D.  T. 
Hancock,  City  of  Hancock,  Mich. 
Ionia  Water  Works,  Ionia,  Mich. 
Lartdo  Water  Co.,  Laredo,  Texas. 
Leadville  Water  Co.,  Leadville,  Col. 
Lynn  Pub'ic  Water  Board,  Lynn,  Mass. 
La.  Crosse  Gas  Light  Co.,   La  Crosse,  Wis. 
Leadville  Gas  Works,  Leadville,  Col. 
Las  Yedras  Mining  Co. 

Mamaroneck  Watt  r  Co.,  Mamaroneck,  N.  Y. 
Meridian  Gas  Light  Co.,  Meridian,  Miss. 
Marion  County  Water  Co.,  ban  Rafael,  Cal. 
Menominee  Mining  Co.,  Menommee,  Mich.  I 

Milford  Water  Co.,  Milford,  Mass. 
Minneapolis  Gas  Light  Co. ,  M  inneapolis,  Minn . 
Montevideo  Water  Works,  Montevideo,  Minn. 
Manufacturers'  Natural  Gas  Co.,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 
McKeesport,  City  of  McKeesport,  Pa. 


N    W    Water  &  Gas  Supply  Co.,  Savannah,  II!. 

N    W    Water  &  Gas  Supply  Co.,  Hurley,  Wis. 

N.  W.  Water  &  Gas  Supply  Co.,  Pierre,  M.  T. 

N.  W    Water  &  Gas  Supply  Co.,  Billings,  M.  T. 

Natural  Gas  Co.  of  West  Va. ,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 

North  S'de  Gas  Co  ,  Pittsburg  Pa. 

Omaha  Gas  M'fg  Co.,  Omaha.  Neb. 

Oskaloosa  Gas  Co.,  Oskaloosa,'  la. 

Oil  City  Fuel  Supply  Co.,  Oil  City,  Pa. 

Ottumwa  Water  Works,  Otiumwa,'la. 

Perkins  Water  Works  Co  ,  N  orth  Spnnqfield,  Mo. 

Perkins  Water  Works  Co.,  Nevada,  Mo. 

Portland,  Oregon . 

Peerless  Mining  Co.,  Arizona. 

Philadelphia  (Natural  Gas)  Co.,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Pennsylvania  .Natural  Gas  Co.,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Quincy  Water  Works,  Quincy,  Mass. 

Russell  &  Alexander,  Colorado  Springs,  Col. 

Russell  &  Alexander,  Puebio,  Coi. 

Russell  &  Alexander,  Salida.  Col. 

Russell  &  Alexander,  Topeka,  Kans. 

Russell  &  Alexander,  Ouray,  Col. 

Rapid  City  Water  Works,  Rapid  City,  D.  T. 

Robinson  &  Cary,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 

Rob:nson  &  Cary,  Grand  Forks,  D.  T. 

Robinson  &  Cary,  Crookston,  Minn. 

Robinson  &  Cary,  Mandan,  D.  T. 

ban  Gabriel  Water  WorksCo.,  Georgetown,  Tex. 

Shenaneo  Natural  Gas  Co.,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Schwachbacher  Bros.  &  Co.,  Seattle,  Wash.  Ter. 

Sahda  Water  Works  Co. ,  Salida,  Col. 

South  Bend  Gas  Liyht  Co.,  bouth  Bend,  Ind. 

Springfield  Water  Works,  Springfield.  111. 

South  Framingham,  Mass. 

Sioux  Falls  Water  Co.,  Sioux  Falls,  D.T. 

bt.  Clair,  City  of  St.  dair,  Mich. 

South- West  Natural  Gas  Co.,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Tucson  Water  Co.,  Tacson,  Arizona. 
Texas  Water  &  Gas  Co.,  Terrell,  Texas. 
Texas  Water  &  Gas  Co.,  Cleburne,  Texas. 
Texas  Water  &  Gas  Co.,  Georgetown,  Texas. 
Tonawanda  Gas  Works,  Tonawanda,  N.  Y. 
Topeka  Water  Supply  Co.,  Topeka,  Kan. 
Terreil  Warer  Co.,  Terrell,  Texas, 
limn  Fuel  Gas  &  Pipe  Line  Co.,  Tiffin,  Ohio. 
Tiffin  Natural  Gas  Co.,  Tiffin,  Ohio. 
U.  S.  Wind-Engine  Pump  Co.,  Omaha,  Neb. 
U.  S.  Wind-Engine  Pump  Co  ,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 
Union  Electric  Underground  Co.,  Chicago,  111. 
United  Gas  Fuel  Co.,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 
Virginia  &  Gold  Hill  Water  Co., 

Virginia  City,  Nev. 

Wallingford  Gas  Co.,  Wallingford,  Conn. 
Ware  Fire  Department,  Ware,  Mass. 
Walker,  M.    bheboygan,  Mich. 
Walker,  M, 
Walker,  M. 
Walker,  M. 


Walker,  M. 
Walker,  M 


Midland,  Mich. 
Ludington,  Mich. 
Fremont  Centre,  Mich. 
baultSt.  Marie,  Mich. 
Loraine,  Ohio. 


Wellsville  Water  Co. ,' Wellsville,  N.  Y. 
Wahpeton  WaterCo.,  Wahpeton,  D.  T, 
Willington  Gas  &  Heat  Co.,  WUlmgton,  Kan. 
Wheeling  Natural  Gas  Co.,  Wheeling,  W.  Va. 
Westmoreland  <te  Cambria  Natural  Gas  Co., 

Pittsburg,  Pa 


R.  D.  WOOD  &  Co, 


Engineers 

Iron  Founders 


and  Machinists 


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CAST  IRON  HAS  ~°  WATER  PIPE 

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NEW    YORK. 

JOHN   ('.   KKLLKV,   President. 
Nr.-.v  YORK,  May,  iS8S. 


The  Thomson  Water-Meter. 

Designed  by  JOHN  THOMSON,  M.  Am.  Soc.  C.  E. 


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-Waste  Prevention  Co. 

No.  143  Nassau  Street,  New  York. 


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The  displacement  is  absolutely  positive,  and  the  meter,  as  a  whole, 
\§ practically  frictionlcss,  offering  'no  extra  obstruction  to  the  flow. 

The  engravings  illustrate  the  ^6 -inch  size,  and  are  exactly  one- 
third  of  full  scale. 

Has  been  thoroughly  proven  in  practice  and  its  performance  is 
guaranteed. 

The  construction  is  conducted  upon  the  interchangeable  system 
and  is  in  the  highest  state  of  the  art.  In  fine,  it  is  the  BEST  VALUE 
ever  offered. 


WATER-WASTE  PREVENTION 

Its  Importance  and  the  Evils  Due  to  its  Neglect. 

With  an  account  of  the  Methods  adopted  in  various  Cities  in  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States. 

£y  HENRY  C.  MEYER,  Editor  of  the  THE  ENGINEERING  &  BUILDING  RECORD. 
With  an  Appendix. 


EXTRACT  FROM  PREFACE. 

During  the  summer  of  1882  the  Editor  of  THE  SANITARY  ENGINEER  carefully  investigated  the 
methods  employed  in  various  cities  in  Great  Britain  for  curtailing  the  waste  of  water  without  subjecting 
the  respective  communities  to  either  inconvenience  or  a  limited  allowance.  The  results  of  this  investiga- 
tion appeared  in  a  series  of  articles  entitled  "  New  York's  Water-Supply,"  the  purpose  being  to  present 
to  the  readers  of  THE  SANITARY  ENGINEER  such  facts  as  would  stimulate  public  sentiment  in  support 
of  the  enforcement  of  measures  tending  to  prevent  the  excessive  waste  of  water  so  prevalent  in 
American  cities,  and  especially  the  city  of  New  York,  which  was  then  suffering  from  a  short  supply 
Numerous  requests  for  information,  together  with  the  recent  popular  agitation  in  connection  with  a 
proposition  to  increase  the  powers  of  the  Water  Department  of  New  York  City  with  a  view  to  enabling 
it  to  restrict  the  waste  of  water,  have  suggested  the  desirability  of  reprinting  these  articles  in  a  more 
convenient  and  accessible  form,  with  data  giving  the  results  of  efforts  in  this  direction  in  American 
cities  since  the  articles  first  appeared,  so  far  as  they  have  come  to  the  author's  notice 

TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  : 


CHAPTER  I.— CONDITION  OF  NEW  YORK'S 
WATER-SUPPLY. — Mr.  Thomas  Hawksley  on 
Advantages  of  Waste-Prevention  ;  Condition 
of  Water-Supply  in  England  Thirty  Years 
Ago ;  Means  Adopted  to  Prevent  Waste  in 
Great  Britain;  Norwich  the  First  City  in  Eng- 
land to  Adopt  Measures  of  Prevention  ;  Lon- 
don :  the  Practice  There. 

CHAPTER  II.-  GLASGOW.— District  Meters 
Tried  as  an  Experiment ;  Results  of  Experi- 
ments ;  Prevalence  of  Defective  Fittings ; 
Testing  and  Stamping  of  Fittings ;  Rules 
Governing  Plumbers'  Work. 

CHAPTER  Ill.-MANCHESTER.-History  of 
Waste-Prevention  Measures ;  Methods  of 
House-to-House  Inspection  ;  Duties  of  In- 
spectors ;  Methods  of  Testing  and  Stamping 

CHAPTER  IV.— LIVERPOOL.  —  Change  from 
Intermittent  to  Constant  Supply  ;  Method  of 
Ascertaining  Locality  of  Waste  by  Use  of 
District  Meters  ;  Method  of  House  Inspec- 
tion ;  Method  of  Testing  Fittings. 

CHAPTER  V.— PROVIDENCE  AND  CINCINNATI. 
— Review  of  Measures  to  Prevent  Water- 
Waste  in  the  United  States  prior  to  1882; 
Providence,  R.  I.:  Results  following  the  Gen- 
eral Use  of  Meters  ;  Cincinnati :  Methods  of 
House  Inspection  with  the  Aid  of  the  Water- 
phone  ;  Results  Attained. 


CHAPTER  VI.—  NEW  YORK.— Measures  Adopt- 
ed by  the  Department  of  Public  Works  prior 
to  1882. 

CHAPTER  VII.— GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS.— 
Points  to  be  considered  in  Adopting  Measures 
for  Large  Cities. 

APPENDIX.— POINTS  SUGGESTED  IN  THE  CON- 
SIDERATION OF  VARIOUS  METHODS. — Water- 
Waste  Prevention  in  Boston  in  1^83  and  1884 ; 
Results  Attained  ;  Waste-Prevention  in  New 
York  City;  Liverpool  Corporation  Water- 
Works  Regulations ;  Glasgow  Corporation 
Water- Works  Regulations;  Description  of 
Standard  Fittings;  tjenalties  for  Violations  ; 
Cistern  -vs.  Valve-Supply  to  Water-Closets 
in  New  York  City;  New  York  Board  of 
Health  Regulations  concerning  Water-Sup- 
ply to  Water-Closets;  Letters  from  Water- 
Works  Authorities  sustaining  the  action  of 
the  New  York  Board  of  Health  in  Requiring 
Cistern-Supply  to  Water-Closets;  Extracts 
from  Report  of  Boston  City  Engineer  on 
Wasteful  Water-Closets:  Proposed  Water- 
Rates  on  Water-Closets  in  New  York  ;  Reso- 
lutions of  the  New  York  Board  of  Health 
endorsing  the  proposed  Water-Rates  for 
Water-Closets;  Excerpts  from  Articles  ex- 
plaining Methods  of  Arranging  Water-Supply 
to  Water-Closets  to  secure  the  Minimum 
Water-Rate  in  New  York  (with  illustrations). 


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Water,  Steam  and  Gas  Pressure  Regulator  Valves, 

The  Water-Pressure  Regulator  is  for  reducing  and  regulating  (automatically)  the 
pressure  between  a  high  and  low  service  supply  ;  it  is  very  valuable  where  a  reduction 
in  hea  is  required. 

Also,  Ball's  improved  method  of  tapping  water-pipes  with  bands,  and  fittings  for 
general  hydraulic  work. 


WATER-WASTE  PREVENTION. 


Ey  HENRY  C.  MEYER,  Editor  of  the  THE  ENGINEERING  &  Bun  DING  RECORD. 


PRESS   COMMENTS. 


"  Mr.  Meyer  is  competent  authority  to  speak  on 
a  subject  of  very  great  importance  in  all  cities 
and  one  regarded  with  too  much  apathy  by  the 
public.  Furthermore  he  has  given  the  matter 
special  study,  and  the  facts  detailed  are  the  re- 
sults of  investigation.  *  *  *  His  suggestions 
are  eminently  practicable  and  sensible,  and  should 
commend  themselves  to  the  judgment  of  every  ! 
one  interested  in  the  subject."-  Troy  Times. 

"The   economies    of  this  subject  deserve  the 
steady   attention   of    tax-payers    and    municipal 
officeis.     It  should   be  borne  in  mind  that  waste 
of  water  is  more  than   prodigal.     It  is  dangerous   I 
to  the  safety  of  a  city. '' — Cincinnati  Commercial  \ 
Gazette. 

"  The  author  of  this  timely  book  is  particularly 
adapted  to  deal  with  the  questions  he  discusses. 
But  few  have  given  the  subject  so  much  atten-  [ 
tion,  and  no  one  could  treat  it  mote  impartially. 
He  is  not  only  intimately  acquainted  with  the 
water-supply  of  American  cities,  but  has  per- 
sonally investigated  the  plans  adopted  for  cur- 
tailing water-waste  in  various  cities  in  Great 
Britain,  the  results  of  these  investigations  ap- 
pearing in  this  work. 

"  As  our  cities  increase  in  population,  and  new 
cities  spring  up,  the  demand  for  more  water  cor- 
respondmjy  increases.  At  the  same  time  the 
water-supply  is  diminishing,  and  that  which 
would  otherwise  be  available  is  rendered  unfit 
for  use  by  the  contamination  of  sewage  and  the 
refuse  of  manufactories.  It  is  conceded  that  the 
inhabitants  of  a  city  shou'd  be  supplied  with  all 
the  water  they  can  use.  It  is  not  with  the  use, 
but  with  the  waste  of  water  that  the  author  deals. 

"  No  patented  appliances  are  recommended, 
but  such  simple  means  as  are  free  to  all.  We 
recommend  the  careful  reading  of  this  little 
book  to  every  resident  of  a  city  who  is  interested 
in  its  water-supply,  and  particularly  to  those 
who,  by  virtue  of  vested  authority,  have  to  some 
extent  the  matter  of  water-waste  prevention  in 
their  hands." — A  merican  Machinist. 

"  A  valuable  work,  which  really  affects  every 
urban  resident.  *  *  *  There  is  not  a  city  in 
the  world  in  which  the  rate-payers  are  not  taxed 
unnecessarily  to  pay  for  pumping  water  which 
runs  to  waste,  and  any  work  throwing  light  upon 
this  problem,  without  subjecting  the  community 
as  a  whole  to  inconvenience,  must  be  a  valuable 
treatise." -  -Ottawa  Da ily  J-  ress . 

"  A  little  work  whose  worth  cannot  be  justly 
estimated.  *  *  *  It  presents  an  interesting 
subject  for  examination  and  reflection  to  every 
citizen." — Houston  Post. 

"A  work  that  should  be  read  and  studied  by 
every  one." — Savannah  News. 


"  Though  small  in  size  it  is  a  work  which  repre 
sents  a  good  deal  of  solid  work.  With  the  amount 
of  information  which  it  contains  it  ought  to 
prove  of  no  small  use  to  the  city  governments  of 
the  country.  It  is  a  vade  mecum  lor  water  com- 
missioners, and  will  be  a  valuable  little  text-book 
for  every  water  board  in  America.  Briefly,  Air. 
Meyer's  object  is  to  show  by  a  comparison  be- 
tween the  systems  and  results  in  different  cities  in 
America  and  England  how  much  money  is  an- 
nually wasted  in  the  shape  of  water  in  our  larger 
cities  for  the  wane  of  proper  precautions  and  how 
those  precautions  had  best  be  taken.  *  *  *  Mr. 
Meyer's  book  is  well  got  up,  his  arguments  con- 
cisely stated,  and  his  facts  and  figures  well  tabu- 
lated and  arranged,  the  result  being  the  produc- 
tion of  a  work  which  carries  conviction  with  it, 
and  which  ought  to  be  of  no  small  value  to  the 
larger  cities  of  the  countiy  in  the  future.— Min- 
neapolis Tribune. 

l  his  volume  is  a  most  seasonable  contribution 
to  hydraulic  and  economic  litejature.  Its  author 
has  personally  and  carefully  investigated  the 
problem  from  a  practical  standpoint  in  both  Eng- 
land and  America,  and  speaks  with  authority  and 
backs  his  statements  by  official  figures. 

"  The  work  treats  generally  of  the  condition  of 
the  water-supply  of  New  York,  and  the  methods 
tested  or  adopted  for  the  prevention  of  waste  in 
Glasgow,  Manchester,  and  Liverpool,  and  in  our 
own  cities  of  Providence,  Cincinnati,  Boston,  and 
New  York.  The  data  are  derived  from  the  most 
authoritative  sources,  and  presented  in  a  shape 
that  must  carry  conviction  with  it." — Engineer- 
ing News. 

*'  Once  get  a  property-owner  convinced  of  the 
evils  of  water-waste,  and  this  book  will  tell  him 
all  he  wants  to  know  about  preventing  it." — 
Philadelphia  Bulletin. 

"  One  of  the  best  and  most  useful  publications 
now  before  the  public.  *  *  *  A  copy  of  this 
timely  publication  ought  to  be  in  the  hands  of  all 
water  company  and  city  officials  and  plumbers, 
and  even  water  consumers  might  read  it  with 
profit." — Memphis  Appeal. 

"It  is  worthy  of  close  attention.  Mr.  Meyer 
discloses  the  true  «pirit  of  the  disinterested  inves- 
tigator. "--Ha rtford  Evening  Post. 

"  As  a  brief,  concise  treatise  upon  this  subject 
the  work  is  of  the  utmost  value,  the  author  mak- 
ing no  unproven  assertions,  but  bringing  the  sys- 
tems and  experiences  of  other  cities  to  illustrate 
and  enforce  his  statements.  In  giving  this  book 
to  the  public  the  author  is  deserving  of  praise  as 
a  true  and  practical  economist,  whose  efforts  will 
be  appreciated  by  thinking  men,  if  not  by  the 
public  at  large. ''"'-Inland  A  rchitect  and  Builder. 


8vo.,  bound  in  cloth,  $1.00.      Sent  post-paid  on  rece'pt  of  price. 

Address,  BOOK  DEPARTMENT, 

THE  ENGINEERING  AND  BUILDING  RECORD, 

P.  O.  Box,  3037.  No.  277  Pe^rl  Street,   New  York. 

Obtainable  at  London  Office,  92  and  93  Fleet  Street,  for  5*. 


HERSEY  METER  CO., 

SOUTH  BOSTON,  MASS. 


MANUFACTURERS   OF    THE 


Hersey  Water-Meter 


•§ 

CO 


The  cut  shows  the  piston  and  ring  removed  from  the  case. 

The  HERSEY  WATER-METER  will  collect  the  most  revenu~  for  the 
Water  Department,  because  it  will  make  the  least  number  of  stop?. 

The  HERSEY  METER  is  the  lowest  in  first  cost,  and  can  be  main- 
tained in  repair  for  much  less  than  any  other. 

Send  for  descriptive  circular  and  price-list. 

~~WE  INVITE  ~~THE~~ATTENTION  OF  ALL  WHO  ARE 
INTERESTED  IN  THE 

PURCHASE  OR  CONSTRUCTION 

OF 

WATERWORKS 

TO    THE    HIGH    GRADE    OF 

PUMPING    ENGINES,. 

Steam  or  Power, 

WHICH  WE  ARE  NOW  PRODUCING. 
Information    or    estimates    cheerfully    furnished    at    all    times. 

GKO.    F.    BLAKE   MFG.   Co., 
Builders  of  Pumping  Machinery  for  all  Services. 

iii  &  113  FEDERAL  ST.,         535  ARCH  ST.,  95  &  97  LIBERTY  ST., 

BOSTON.  PHILADELPHIA.  NEW    YORK. 

Send  for  Catalogue. 


SECOND    EDITION. 


Plumbing  and  House-Drainage 
Problems ; 


Questions,    Answers,    and    Descriptions    from    THE    SANITARY    ENGINEER. 

With  142  Illustrations. 

[FROM  THE   PREFACE.] 

' '  A  feature  of  THE  SANITARY  ENGINEER  is  its  replies  to  questions  on  topics  that 
come  within  its  $cope,  included  in  which  are  VVater-Supply,  Sewage  Disposal,  Ventila- 
tion, Heating,  Lighting,  House-Drainage,  and  Plumbing.  Repeated  inquiries  con- 
cerning matters  often  explained  in  its  columns  suggested  the  desirability  of  putting  in 
a  convenient  form  for  reference  a  selection  from  its  pages  of  questions  and  comments 
on  various  problems  met  with  in  house-drainage  and  plumbing,  improper  work  being 
illustrated  and  explained  as  well  as  correct  methods.  It-  is  therefore  hoped  that  this 
book  will  be  useful  to  those  interested  in  this  branch  of  sanitary  engineering." 

TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  : 


DANGEROUS  BLUNDERS  IN  PLUMBING. 

Running  Vent-Pipe  in  Improper  Places — Con- 
necting Soii-Pipes  with  Chimney-Flues—By- 
Passes  in  Trap-Ventilation,  etc.  Illustrated. 

A  Case  of  Reckless  Botching.     Illustrated. 

A  Stupid  Multiplication  of  Traps.  Illustrated. 

Plumbing  Blunders  in  a  Gentleman's  Country 
House.  Illustrated. 

A  Trap  Made  Useless  by  Improper  Adjustment 
of  Inlet  and  Outlet  Pipes.  Illustrated. 

Unreliability  of  Heated  Flue  as  a  Substitute 
for  Proper  Trapping.  Illustrated. 

Need  of  Plans  in  Doing  Plumbing- Work. 

HOUSE-DRAINAGE. 

City  and  Country  House-Drainage — Removal 
of  Ground- Water  from  Houses— Trap-Ventila- 
tion— Fresh-Air  Inlets— Dram-VentTlation  by 
Heated  Flues— Laying  of  Stoneware  Drains. 

Requirements  for  the  Drainage  of  Every  House. 

Drainage  of  a  Saratoga  House.     Illustrated. 

Ground- Water  Drainage  of  a  Country-House. 
Illustrated. 

Ground- Water  Drainage  of  a  City  House.  Il- 
lustrated. 

Fresh -Air  Inlets. 

The  Location  of  Fresh-Air  Inlets  in  Cities. 
Illustrated. 

Fresh-Air  Inlets.     Illustrated. 

Air-Inlets  on  Drains. 

The  Proper  Way  to  Lay  Stoneware  Drains. 

Risks  Attending  the  Omission  of  Traps  and  Re  - 
lying  on  Drain- Ventilation  by  Flues.  Illustrated. 

The  Tightness  of  Tile-Diains. 

Danger  of  Soil-Pipe  Terminals  Freezing  unless 
Ends  are  without  Hoods  or  Cowls. 

Object:on  to  Connecting  Bath-Wastt  with 
Water-Closet  Trap. 

How  to  Adjust  the  Inlets  and  Outlets  of  Traps. 
Illustrated. 

How  to  Protect  Trap  when  Soil-Pipe  is  used  as 
a  Leader. 

Size  of  Ventilating-Pipes  for  Traps. 

How  to  Prevent  Condensation  Filling  Vent  - 
Pipes. 

Ventilating  Soil-Pipes. 

How  to  Prevent  Accidental  Discharge  into  Tiap 
Vent-Pipe. 

Why  Traps  should  ba  Vented. 


I  MISCELLANEOUS. 

Syphoning  Water  through  a  Bath-Supply. 
!  Illustrated. 

Emptying  a  Trap  by  Capillary  Attraction.  II- 
:  lustrated. 

As  to  Safety  of  Stop-Cocks  on  Hot  Water 
Pipes. 

How  to  Burnish  Wiped  Joints. 

Admission  to  the  New  York  Trade  Schools. 

Irregular  Water  Supply.     Illustrated. 

Hot  Water  from  the  Cold  Faucet,  and  how  to 
Prevent  it.  Illustrated. 

Disposal  of  Bath  and  Basin  Waste  Water. 

To  Prevent  Corrosion  of  Tank  Lining. 

Number  of  Water  Closets  Required  in  a  Fac- 
tory. 

Size  of  Basin  Wastes  and  Outlets. 

Tar  Coated  Water  Pipe  Affect  Taste  of  Water. 

How  to  Deal  with  Pollution  of  Cellar  Floors. 

How  to  Heat  a  Bathing  Pool. 

Objections  to  Galvanized  Sheet  Iron  Soil  Pipe. 

To  Prevent  Rust  in  a  Suction  Pipe. 

Automatic  Shut  Off  for  Gas  Pumping  Engines 
when  Tank  is  Full.  Illustrated. 

Paint  to  Protect  Tank  Linings. 

Vacuum  Valves  not  always  Reliable. 

Size  of  Water  Pipes  in  a  House. 

How  to  Make  Rust  Joints. 

Covering  for  Water  Pipes. 

Size  of  Soil  Pipe  for  an  ordinary  City  House. 

How  to  Construct  a  Sunken  Reservoir  to  Hold 
Two  Thousand  Gallons. 

Where  to  Place  Burners  to  Ventilate  Flues  by 
Gas  Jets.  Illustrated. 

How  to  Prevent  Water  Hammer. 

Why  a  Hydraulic  Ram  does  not  Work. 

Air  in  Water  Pipes. 

Proper  Size  of  Water  Closet  Outlets. 

Is  a  Cement  Floor  Impervious  to  Air  ? 

Two  Traps  to  a  Water  Closet  Objectionable. 

Connecting  Bath  Wastes  to  Water  Closet 
Traps.  Illustrated. 

Objections  to  Leaching  Cesspool  and  need  of 
Fresh  Air  Inlet. 

The  Theory  of  the  Action  of  Field's  Syphon. 

How  to  Disinfect  a  Cesspool. 

Drainage  into  Cesspools. 

Slabs  for  Pantry  Sinks— Wood  vs.  Marbie. 

Test  for  Well  Pollution. 

Cesspool  for  Privy  Vault. 


GALVIN  BRASS  AND  IRON  WORKS, 


DETROIT,    MICH. 


MAKUFACTURKRS  OF 
CALVIN'S  COMPOUND  WEDGE  GATE  VALVES, 

For  Steam,  Water  and  Gas. 

CALVIN'S  CONICAL  CASE  CATE  FIRE  HYDRANT. 

CALVIN'S  IMPROVED  MATTHEW  FIRE  HYDRANT. 


GENERAL    BRASS    AND    IRON    GOODS, 

For  Steam,  Water  and  Gas, 


PLUMBING  AND  HOUSE-DRAINAGE  PROBLEMS. 


Corrosion  of  Lead  Lining. 

Size  of  Flush  1  ank  to  deal  with  Sewage  of  a 
Small  Hospital. 

Details  of  the  Construction  of  a  House-Tank. 
Illustrated. 

The  Construction  of  a  Cistern  under  a  House. 

To  Protect  Lead  Lining  of  a  Tank,  and  Cause 
of  Sweating. 

Stains  on  Marble. 

Lightning  Strikes  Soil  Pipes. 

Will  the  Contents  of  a  Cesspool  Freeze  ? 

Bad  Tast'ng  Water  from  a  Coil.     Illustrated. 

How  to  Fit  Sheet  Lead  in  a  Large  Tank. 

Why  Water  is  "  Milky  "  When  First  Drawn. 

Material  for  Water  Service  Pipes. 

Carving  Tables.     Illustrated. 

Is  Galvanized  Pipe  Dangerous  for  Soft  Spring 
Water. 

How  to  Arrange  Hush  Pipes  in  Cisterns  to  Pre- 
vent Syphoning  Water  Through  Ball  Cock. 

Depth  of  Foundations  to  Prevent  Dampness  of 
Site. 

Where  to  Place  a  Tank  to  get  Good  Discharge 
at  Faucet. 

Sel  f  Acting  Water  Closets.    Illustrated. 

Wind  Disturbing  Seal  of  Trap. 

How  to  Draw  Water  from  a  Deep  Well. 

Cause  of  Smell  of  Well  Water. 

Absorption  of  Light  by  Gas  Globes. 

Defective  Drainage.     Illustrated. 

Fitting  Basins  to  Marble  Slabs.   Illustrated. 

Intermediate  Tanks  for  the  Water  Supply  of 
High  Buildings.  Illustrated. 

How  to  Construct  a  Filtering  Cistern.  Illus- 
trated. 

Objections  to  Running  Ventilating  Pipe  Into 
Chimney-Flue. 

Size  of  Water  Supply  Pipe  for  Dwelling  House. 

Faulty  Plan  of  a  Cesspool.     Illustrated. 

Connecting  Refrigerator  Wastes  with  Drains. 
Illustrated. 

Disposing  of  Refrigerator  Wastes.  Illustrated. 

Pumping  Air  From  Water  Closet  into  Tea 
Kettle  as  Result  of  Direct  Supply  to  Water 
Closets.  Illustrated. 

Danger  in  Connecting  Tank  Overflows  with 
Soil  Pipes. 

Arrangement  of  Safe  Wastes.    Illustrated. 

The  kind  of  Men  Who  do  not  Like  the  Sani- 
tary Engineer 

What  is  Reasonable  Plumbers'  Profit. 

HOT  WATER  CIRCULATION  IN  BUILD- 
INGS. 

Bath  Boilers.     Illustrated. 

Setting  Horizontal  Boilers.     Illustrated '. 


How  to  Secure  Circulation  Between  Boilers  in 
Different  Houses.  Illustrated. 

Connecting  One  Boiler  with  Two  Ranges. 
Illustrated. 

Taking  Return  Below  Boiler.     Illustrated. 

Trouble  with  Boiler. 

An  Ignorant  Way  of  Dealing  with  a  Kitchen 
Boiler.  Illustrated. 

Returning  into  Hot  Water  Supply  Pipe.  Illus- 
trated. 

Where  should  Sediment  Pipe  from  Boiler  bs 
connected  with  Waste-Pipe  ? 

Several  Flow  Pipes  and  one  Circulation  Pipe. 
Illustrated. 

How  to  Run  Pipes  from  Water  Back  to  Boiler. 
Illustrated. 

Hot  Water  Circulation  when  Pipes  from  I3o:ler 
pass  under  the  Floor.  Illustrated. 

Heating  a  Room  from  Water  Back. 

The  Operation  of  Vacuum  and  Safety  Valves. 
Illustrated. 

Preventing  Collapse  of  Boilers. 

Collapse  of  a  Boiler.     Illustrated. 

Explosion  of  Water  Backs. 

A  Proposed  Precaution  against  Water  Back 
Explosions.  Illustrated. 

The  Bursting  of  Kitchen  Boilers  and  Connect- 
ing Pipes.  Illustrated. 

Giving  out  of  Lead  Vent  Pipes  from  Boilers  in 
an  Apartment  House.  Illustrated. 

Connecting  a  Kitchen  Boiler  with  One  or  More 
Water  Backs.  Illustrated. 

New  Method  of  Heating  Two  Boilers  by  One 
Water  Back.  Illustrated. 

Plan  of  Horizontal  Hot  Water  Boiler.  Illus- 
trated. 

HOT    WATER    SUPPLY    IN    VARIOUS 
BUILDINGS. 

Kitchen  and  Hot  Water  Supply  in  the  Resi- 
dence of  Mr.  W.  K.  Vanderbilt,  New  York. 
Illustrated. 

Kitchen  and  Hot  Water  Supply  in  the  Resi- 
dence of  Mr.  Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  New  York. 
Illustrated. 

Kitchen  and  Hot  Water  Supply  in  the  Resi- 
dence of  Mr.  Henry  G.  Marquand,  New  York. 
Illustrated. 

Kitchen  and  Kot  Water  Supply  in  the  Resi- 
dence of  Mr.  A.  J.  White.  Illustrated. 

Hot  Water  Supply  in  an  Office  Building.  Illus- 
trated. 

Kitchen  and  Hot  Water  Supply  in  the  Resi- 
dence of  Mr.  Sidney  Webster.  Illustrated. 

Plumbing  and  Water  Supply  in  the  Residence 
of  Mr.  H.  H.  Ccok.  Illustrated. 


Large  8vo.  cloth,  $2.00. 


Address,  BOOK  DEPARTMENT, 

THE  ENGINEERING  AND  BUILDING  RECORD, 

No.  277  Pearl  Street,  New  York. 


1 


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Stop-Cock  Boxes. 


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CAST-IRON 

Extension  Stop-Cock  and  Valve, 
Shut-Off  Boxes  for  Gas  and  Water, 

BINGHAM    &    TAYLOR, 
BUFFALO,  N.  Y. 


Send  for  Circular  and  Prices. 


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Boxes  sent  free  on  application. 


NOW    READY  !     PRICE,   $3.00.     POSTAGE    PAID. 


Steam-Heating   Problems ; 

OR, 
Questions,  Answers,  and  Descriptions 

RELATING  TO 

STEAM-HEATING  AND  STEAM-FITTING, 

FROM 

THE  SANITARY  ENGINEER. 

With    One    Hundred    and    Nine    Illustrations. 


PREFACE. 

THE  SANITARY  ENGINEER,  while  devoted  to  Engineering.  Architecture,  Con- 
struction, and  Sanitation,  has  always  made  a  special  feature  of  its  departments  of  Steam 
and  Hot-Water  Heating,  in  which  a  great  variety  of  questions  have  been  answered  and 
descriptions  of  the  work  in  various  buildings  have  been  given.  The  favor 
with  which  a  recent  publication  from  this  office,  entitled  "Plumbing  and  House- 
Drainage  Problems,  "has  been  received  suggested  the  publication  of "  STEAM-HEATING 
PROBLEMS,"  which,  though  dealing  with  another  branch  of  industry,  is  similar  in 
character.  It  consists  of  a  selection  from  the  pages  of  the  THE  SANITARY  ENGINEER 
of  questions  and  answers,  besides  comments  on  various  problems  met  with  in  the  design- 
ing and  construction  of  steam-heating  apparatus,  and  descriptions  of  steam-heating 
work  in  notable  buildings. 

It  is  hoped  that  this  book  will  prove  useful  to  those  who  design,  construct,  and 
have  the  charge  of  steam-heating  apparatus. 


CONTENTS: 


BOILERS. 


On  blowing  off  and  filling  boilers. 

Where  a  test-gauge  should  be  applied  to  a  boiler. 

Domes  on  boilers*  whether  they  are  necessary  or 
not. 

Expansion  of  water  in  boilers. 

Cast  us.  wrought  iron  for  nozzles  and  magazines 
of  house-heating  boilers. 

Pipe-connections  to  boilers. 

Passing  boiler-pipes  through  walls  ;  how  to  pre- 
vent breakage  by  settlement. 

Suffocation  of  workmen  in  boilers. 

Heating-boilers.     (A  problem.) 

A  detachable  boilpr-lug. 

Isolating- valve  for  steam-mam  of  boilers. 

On  the  effect  of  oil  in  boilers. 

Iron  rivets  and  steel  boiler-plates. 

Proportions  for  rivets  for  boiler-plates. 

Is  there  any  danger  in  using  water  continuously 
in  boilers? 

Accident  with  connected  boilers. 

A.  supposed  case  of  charring  wood  by  steam- pipes. 

Domestic  boilers  warmed  by  steam. 

VALUE  OF  HEATING-SURFACES. 

Computing  the  amount  of  radia'or-surface  for 
warming:  bu'ldings  by  hot  water. 


Calculating  the  radiating-surface  for  heating 
buildings -the  savjng  of  double-glazed  win- 
dows. 

Amount  of  heating-surface  required  in  hot-water 
apparatus  boilers  and  in  steam-apparatus 
boilers. 

Calculating  the  amount  of  radiating-surface  for  a 
given  room. 

How  much  heating-si  rf ace  will  a  steam-pipe  of 
given  size  supply  ? 

Coils  -vs.  radiators  and  size  of  boiler  to  heat  a 
given  building. 

Calculating  the  amount  of  heating-surface. 

Computing  the  cost  of  steam  for  warming. 

RADIATORS  AND  HEATERS. 

A  woman's  method  of  regulating  a  radiator  (cov- 
ering it  with  a  cosey). 

Improper  position  of  radiator- valves. 

Hot-water  radiator  for  private  houses. 

Remedying  a'r-binding  of  box-coils. 

How  to  use  a  stove  as  a  hot-water  heater. 

"  Plane  "  vs.  "Plain  "  as  a  term  as  applied  to  out- 
side surface  of  radiators. 

Relative  value  of  pipe  on  cast-iron  heating  sur- 
face. 

Relative  value  of  pipe  on  steam-coils. 


mCD  Z  I 

I    >    |     u> 


STEAM-HEATING  PROBLEMS. 


Warming  churches  (plan  of  placing  a  coil  in  each 

pew). 
Warming  churches. 

PIPE  AND  FITTING. 

Steam-heating  work— good  and  indifferent. 

Piping  adjacent  buildings:  pumps  vs.  steam- 
traps. 

True  diameters  and  weights  of  standard  pipes. 

Expansion  of  pipes  of  various  metals. 

Expansion  of  steam-pipes. 

Advantages  claimed  for  overhead  piping. 

Position  of  valves  on  steam-riser  connection . 

Cause  of  noise  in  steam-pipes. 

One-pipe  system  of  steam-heating. 

How  to  heat  several  adjacent  buildings  with  a 
single  apparatus. 

Patents  on  Mills'  system  of  steam-heating. 

Air-binding  in  return  steam-pipes. 

Air-binding  in  return  steam-pipes,  and  methods 
to  overcome  it. 

VENTILATION. 

Size  of  registers  to  heat  certain  rooms. 
Determining  the  size  of  hot-air  flues. 
Window  ventilation. 
Removing  vapor  from  dye-house. 
Ventilation  of  Cunard  steamer  "Umbria." 
Calculating  sizes  of  flues  and  registers. 
On  methods  of  removing  air  from  between  ceiling 
and  roof  of  a  church. 

STEAM. 

Economy  of  using  exhaust  stea*n  for  heat- 
ing. 

Heat  of  steam  for  different  conditions. 

Superheating  steam  by  the  use  of  coils. 

Effect  of  using  a  small  pipe  for  exhaust  steam- 
heating. 

Explosion  of  a  steam-table. 

CUTTING    NIPPLES    AND    BENDING 
PIPES. 

Cutting    large    nipples— large    in  diameter  and 

short  in  length. 
Cutting  crooked  threads. 
Cutting  a  close  nipple  out  of  a  coupling  after  a 

thread  is  cut. 
Bending  pipe. 
Cutting  large  nipples. 
Cutting  various  sizes  of  thread  with  a  solid  die. 

RAISING  WATER  AUTOMATICALLY. 

Contrivance  for  raising  water  in  high  buildings. 
Criticism   of    the    foregoing  and    description    of 
another  device  for  a  similar  purpose. 

MOISTURE  ON  WALLS,  ETC. 

Cause  and  prevention  of  moisture  on  walls. 
Effect  of  moisture  on  sensible  temperature. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Heating  water  in  large  tanks. 

Heating  water  for  large  institutions  and  high  city 

buildings. 
Questions  relating  to  water-tanks. 


Faulty  elevator-pump  connections. 

On  heating  several  buildings  from  one  source. 

Coal-tar  coating  lor  water-pipe. 

Filters  for  feeding  house- boilers.  Other  means 
of  clarifying  water. 

Testing  gas-pioes  for  leaks  and  making  pipe- 
joints. 

Will  boiling  drinking-water  purify  it? 

Differential  rams  for  testing  fittings  and  valves. 

Percentage  of  ashes  in  coal. 

Automatic  pump-governor. 

Cast-iron  safe  for  iteam-radiators. 

Methods  of  graduating  radiator  service  according 
to  the  weather. 

Preventing  fall  of  spray  from  steam-exhaust 
pipes. 

Exhaust-condenser  for  preventing  fall  of  spray 
from  steam-exhaust  pipts. 

Steam-heating  apparatus  and  plenum  (ventila- 
tion), system  in  Kalamazoo  Insane  Asylum. 

Heating  and  ventilation  of  a  prison. 

Amount  of  heat  due  to  condensation  of  water. 

Expansion-joints. 

Resetting  of  house-heating  boilers--a  possible 
saving  of  fuel. 

How  to  find  the  water-lin?  of  boilers  and  position 
of  try-cocks. 

Low-pressure  hot-water  system  for  heating 
buildings  in  England  (comments  by  The 
Sanitary  Engineer). 

Steam-heating  apparatus  in  Manhattan  Com- 
pany's and  Merchants'  Bank  Building,  New 
York. 

Boilers  in  Manhattan  Company's  and  Merchants' 
Bank  Building,  with  extracts  trom  specifica- 
tions. 

Steam-heating  apparatus  in  Mutual  Life  Insur- 
ance Building  on  Broadway. 

The  setting  of  boilers  in  Tribune  Building,  New 
York. 

Warming  and  ventilation  of  West  Presbyterian 
Church,  New  York  City. 

Principles  of  heating-apparatus,  Fine  Arts  Exhi- 
bition Building,  Copenhagen. 

Warming  and  ventilation  of  Opera-Hou-e  at 
Ogdensburg,  N.  Y. 

Systems  of  heating  houses  in  Germany  and 
Austria. 

Steam-pipes  under  New  York  streets — difference 
between  two  systems  adopted. 

Some  details  of  steam  and  ventilating  apparatus 
used  on  the  continent  of  Europe. 

MISCELLANEOUS  QUESTIONS. 

Applying  traps  to  gravity  steam-apparatus. 
Expansion  of  brass  and  iron  pipe. 
Connecting  steam  and  return  risers  at  their  tops. 
Power  used  in  running  hydraulic  elevators. 
On  melting  snow  in  the  streets  by  steam. 
Action  of  ashe?  street  fillings  on  iron  pipes. 
Arrangement  of  steam-coils  for  heating  oil-stills. 
Converting  a   steam-apparatus   into  a  hot-water 

apparatus  and  back  again. 
Condensation  per  foot  of  steam-main  when  laid 

under  ground. 
Oil  in  boilers  from  exhaust  steam,  and  methods 

of  prevention. 


Address, 


BOOK  DEPARTMENT, 
THE  ENGINEERING  AND  BUILDING  RECORD, 


No.  277  Pesrl  Street,  New  York. 
Obtainable  at  London  Office,  92  and  93  Fleet  Street,  for  i$s. 


PEET  VALVE  CO 

MANUFACTURERS    OF 

DOUBLE 

GATE 

VALVES 


FOR 


Steam,  Water, 
Gas,  Etc. 

163    ALBANY    STREET, 

ALL    WORK    WARRANTED. BOSTON,     MASS. 

LTJDLOW  VALVE  MFGL  CO. 

OFFICE    AND    WORKS  I 

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TROY,     N.    Y. 


VALVES 

DOUBLE  AND  SINGLE  GATE,  ^-INCH  TO  48-INCH, 

Outside    and    Inside    Screws,    Indicators,    Etc.,    for    Gas, 
Water  Steam,  and  Oil. 

ALSO 

FIRE  HYDRANTS,  YARD  and  WASH  HYDRABTS,  CHECK  and  FOOT  VALVES. 

SEND    FOR    CIRCULAR. 


THE  FIFTEENTH  VOL  UME 

OF 

The  Engineering  and  Building  Record 


AND 


THE  SANITARY  ENGINEER. 


(December  4.  1886— May  28.  1887.) 


Aside  from  the  weekly  record  of  events  of  special  interest  to  Engineers,  Architects, 
Municipal  Officers,  Mechanics,  and  Contractors,  the  following  of  the  numerous  special 
articles  are  mentioned  as  of  permanent  interest  to  Municipal  Engineers  and  Water- 
Works  Superintendents. 


ENGINEERING: 

The  series  on  Builders'  and  Contractors' 
Engineering  and  Plant,  which  are  illustrated 
articles  in  detail,  of  the  construction  of  the 
Equitable  Building  and  St.  Patrick's  Cathe- 
dral in  New  York  City;  of  the  Raising  of  the 
old  U.  S.  Court  House  in  Boston;  of  the 
Dredging  Scow  sand  Machinery  used  on  sev- 
eral Government  Works;  of  the  Hoisting  and 
other  Machinery  used  on  the  Elevated  Pail- 
road  in  Brooklyn;  of  the  Machinery  used  in 
the  construction  of  the  Suburban  Elevated 
Railroad,  of  New  York. 

Building  Construction  and  Details,  describ- 
ing the  practice  in  the  eastern  and  western 
parts  of  the  United  Stat°s  and  of  Europe;  of 
interest  both  to  the  engineer  and  architect. 

The  Engineering  at  the  Lawrenceville 
School.  Including  description  in  detail,  with 
illustrations  of  the  drainage,  sewerage,  water- 
supply,  heating  and  ventilation  and  plumbing 
of  the  work. 

Recent  Water-Works  Construction  in  th  • 
United  States.  A  series  of  illustrated  articles 
descriptive  of  works  now  building  or  just  com- 
pleted. 

The  New  Croton  Aqueduct  for  New  York 
City  is  described  as  it  progresses  in  articles  of 
great  value  to  the  engineer. 

There  are  many  descr.ptions,  discussions, 
and  notes  of  interesting  water-works  under- 
takings in  America  and  Europe.  These  are 
generally  illustrated,  and,  with  the  reviews  of 
reports  of  water-works  officers,  make  up  a  val- 
uable history  of  current  undertakings. 

Modern  Sewer  Construction  and  Sewage 
Disposal.  A.  Sf.r'.es  of  papers  by  Edward  >. 
Philbrick,  Mem.  Am.  Soc.  C.  E.,on  the  mod- 
ern thtory  and  practice  of  sewer  woik. 

Recent  Sewer  Construction  contains  a  num- 
ber of  illustiated  articles  descriptive  of  the 
most  important  sewer  work,  such  as  that  at 
Newark,  N.  J.,  now  in  progress. 

Pavements  and  Street  Railroads  is  a  series 
of  papers  on  the  construction  and  maintenance 
of  roadways. 


In  the  Natural  Gas-Supply  of  Pittsburg  and 
Vicinity  is  given  a  very  fully  illustrated  ac- 
count of  the  mechanical  means  used  in 
applying  natural-gas  to  manufactuiing  and 
domest-c  purposes. 

In  addition  to  the  serials,  there  are  many 
articles  on  General  Engineering,  Water- 
Works,  Sewerage.  Pavements,  and  other  topics 
of  interest  to  Fnginccrs,  Contractors,  and 
Builders. 

DOMESTIC  ENGINEERING  : 

This  department  relates  more  particularly  to 
topics  connected  with  the  wel'are  of  the  in- 
dividual. Ui.derit  there  are,  in  ths  volume, 
descriptions  of  the  heating  by  steam  and  hot 
water  of  notable  buildings  in  the  United  States 
and  Canada,  such  as  the  building  for  the  State, 
War,  and  Navy  Departments  at  Washmston, 
the  High  School  at  Honesdale,  Pa.,  the  Post- 
Office  at  Woodstock,  N.  B.,  and  others. 

Descriptions  of  plumbing. 

A  series  of  art-'cles  on  the  theory  and  prac- 
tice of  Hot-Water  Heating,  by  "  Thermus." 

A  discussion  of  the  practicabil  ty  of  heating1 
railway  cars  by  means  which  will  not  incur  the 
risk  of  burning  passengers  in  case  of  co'lision, 
w.th  descriptions  of  several  new  systems. 

Editorials  and  notes  on  the  preservation  of 
health  by  purity  of  water-supply,  proper  sew- 
erage, and  similar  me.aiiS. 

Reviews  of  reports  of  boards  of  health,  and 
b:oks  on  sanitary  topics. 

CONTRACTING  INTELLIGENCE: 

Th's  department  is  a  v:>ry  complete  record, 
week  by  week,  of  projected  works  in  water- 
supplVj  sewerage,  gas,  railroad  construction, 
etc.,  of  great  value  to  the  engineer,  contractor, 
bu'lder,  and  merchant.  Returns  of  projected 
buildings  are  al-o  made  by  special  correspon- 
dents from  all  parts  of  the  United  States  for 
each  issue. 

The  Proposals  cive  the  earliest  information 
of  prjjected  worl-s  from  the  Government  de- 
partments, municipal  bureaus,  and  private 
undertakings. 


Bound  in  cloth,  with  index,  $3.00.  Postage,  40  cents.  THE  ENGINEERING 
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London  Office,  92  and  93  Fleet  Street,  for  15*. 


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Watrr-Works  Engineering-,  Construction  and  Management  a 
Special  Feature. 


CONTRACTORS  for  Municipal  and  Government  Work 
and  Manufacturers  of  Engineering  and  Building 
Supplies  will  find  every  week  in  the  Proposal  adver- 
tisements and  Contracting  News  columns  of  THE 
ENGINEERING  AND  BUILDING  RECORD  important 
items  indicating  the  wants  of  U.  S.  Government, 
Municipal  Authorities,  Water  Companies,  and  Building 
Committees  of  Public  Buildings.  Information  will  be 
found  there  each  week  not  elsewhere  published. 


THE  SIXTEENTH  VOLUME 

OF 

The  Engineering  and  Building  Record 

AND 

THE  SANITARY  ENGINEER. 

(June  4,  1887 — November  26,  1887.) 

Aside  from  the  weekly  record  of  events  of  special  interest  to  Engineers.  Municipal 
Officers,  Mechanics,  and  Contractors,  the  following  of  the  numeious  special  articles 
are  mentioned  as  of  permanent  interest  to  Municipal  Engineers  and  Water-Works 
Superintendents  : 


ENGINEERING  : 

Location  of  Plant  at  shafts  on  New  Croton 
Aqueduct.  (Two  Illustrations.) 

Recent  Water-Works  Construction  —  East 
Orange  and  Bloomfield,  N.  J.,  Water  Com- 
panies. (Three  Illustrations.)  Water-Works 
at  Ware,  Mass.  (Four  Illustrations.)  Wattr- 
Works  at  Calais,  Me.  ( Three  Illustrations.) 
Pavements  and  Street  Railroads— Continua- 
tion of  this  series,  in  which  the  question  of 
wood  pavements  in  London  is  fully  discussed. 
New  Croton  Aqueduct.  No.  XII T.  Disc 
for  Measuring  Cross-section  in  Tunnel.  (Nine 
Illustrations. ) 

Tipple  for  Dumping  Carson  the  New  Croton 
Aqued uct.  (Six  Illustrations . ) 

Modern  Sewage  Disposal  and  Engineering. 
By  E.  S .  Philbrick,  M .  Am.  Soc.  C.  E .  ( Two 
Illustrations.) 

Sweetwater  Dam  and  Irrigation  Experience 
in  Southetn  California.  (One  Illustration.) 

Repair  and  Maintenance  of  Roads.  By\/. 
H.  Wheeler,  C.  E. 

Report  of  the  Disposal  of  Sewage  in  the  City 
of  Worcester,  Mass. 

Receiving  and  Catch  Basins  at  Waterbury. 
Conn.  (Four  Illustrations . ) 

Testing  of  Portland  Cement  for  the  Harbor 

Works  at  Calais  and  Boulogne.  By  F.  Guillain. 

Carrying  Water-Mains  Across  the  River  at 

F.khart,  Ind.  (Two  Illustrations),  and  at  Grand 

Rapids,  Mich.     (Three  Illustrations.) 

Filtration  or  Subsidence.  By  J.  D.  Cook, 
C.  E. 

Special  Report  of  the  Chicago  Drainage  and 
Water-Supplv  Commission. 

Driven-Well  System  as  a  Source  of  or  Means 
of  Obtaining  a  Water-Supply. 

Recent  Sewer  Construction-  Chiswick  Sew- 
age Works.  ( Three  Illustrations . ) 

Burial  of  Sewage  and  Refuse.     (Criticism  on 
an  Address  by  Dr.  G.  V.  Poore,  of  London.) 
The  Molteno  Reservoirat  Cape  Town, Africa. 
Some  Details  of  Water-Works  Construction. 
By  William  R.  Billings,  C.  E.     (Four  articles 
of   this  series,   with    illustrations,   have   ap- 
peared.) 

Accident  on  the  New  Crcton  Aqueduct — 
Collapse  of  Bulkhead.  (Four Illustrations.) 

New  ^"ater-Works  Tunnel,  Chicago— Ab- 
stract of  specifications.  (One  Illustration.) 

Description  of  Water-Tower  at  Franklin, 
Mass.  (Four  Illustrations.) 

Wreck  of  Seneca  Falls  Stand-Pipe.  (De- 
scription and  Four  Illustrations.) 


Six  Years'  Experience  with  Memphis  Sewers  ; 
Sopcial  Report  to  THE  ENGINEERING  AND 
BUILDING  RECORD,  by  Rudolph  Hering,  with 
Editorial  Comment. 

DOMESTIC  ENGINEERING: 

(This  Department  is  of  special  interest  to 
Water-  Works  ^superintendents  and  Plumbers.) 

Hot-  Water  Heating  and  Fitting.  By  Ther- 
mus  (This  Series  Continued.) 

Desciiption  of  Plumbing—  Kitchen  Boiler 
Airangement—  Residence  of  H.  C.  Fahne- 
stock,  Esq.  (Twj  Illustrations.) 

Kitchen  Boiler  in  Diocesan  Hous-,  New 
York. 

Equitable  Building,  New  York.  (Descrip- 
tion of  Plumbing.  (Four  Illustrations.) 

Bath  in  the  Residence  of  Mr.  E.  H.  Wales. 
(One  Illustration.) 

Comparative  value  of  Steam  and  Hot  Water 
for  Transmitting  Heat  and  Power.  Chas.  E. 
Emery. 

Domestic  Engineering—  Army  Mess  Hall  at 
Davids  Island.  (Four  Illustrations.) 

Novel  Pipe  Joints  or  Couplings  for  Natural 
Gas. 

Plumbing  —  Hot-Water  Circulation  from 
Kitchen  to  Top  Floor  of  Building. 

Foot-vents,  their  Location  and  Termination. 
Giles  Srrith. 

Trade  Schools  and  Technical  Education  in 
their  Relation  to  the  Plumber  of  the  Future. 

House  Drainage  Regulations  of  Haverhill, 
Mass. 

Specimens  of  Bad  Plumbing  Discovered  by 
the  New  York  Board  of  Health.  (A  series. 
Illustrated.) 

Conanicut  Park  Fever  Outbreak. 

Is  a  Trap  on  a  Mam  Drain  of  a  Building  a 
Necessity?  tresh-Air  Inlets,  their  Location 
and  Termination.  (Paper  by  Richard  Murphy 
and  fames  A.  Gibson.) 

Rules  for  Figuring  Steam  Heating  Surfaces. 

Plumbing  Violations.  (Several  Illustra- 
tions .  ) 

Revised  Plumbing  Regulations,  New  York 
Board  of  Health. 

The  Fitting  uoof  Hot  Water  Boilers  in  Eng- 
lish Plumbing  Practice.  (Three  Articles,  Il- 
lustrated.) 

Equitable  Building  Plan,  Showing  Domestic 
Engineering  Plants,  Including  Boilers,  En- 
gines, Hydraulic  Pumps  and  Elevators,  Dyna- 
mos, Pneumatic  Service,  Heating  Mains,  Etc. 
(Seven  articles  with  Illustrations.) 

Plumbing  in  the  Residence  of  Mr.  Francis 
Lyne  Stetson.  (Three  Illustrations.) 


Washington,  D.  C.,  Plumbing  Regulations. 
(Controversy  Over  Them.) 


Bursting  of  Little  Falls  Reservoir.  (Descrip- 
tion.) 

Remarkable   Meeting    of    Headings   on    the  Plumbing  in  Residence  of  Mr.  W.  F.  Weld, 

New  Croton  Aqueduct.  Brookline,  Mass.     (Six  Illustrations.) 

Bound  in  cloth,  with  index,  $3.00.  Postage,  40  cents.  THE  ENGINEERING 
AND  BUILDING  RECORD,  No.  277  Pesrl  Street,  New  York.  Obtainable  at 
London  Office,  92  and  93  Fleet  Street,  for  15^. 


DEANE  STEAM  PUMP  CO. 

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Manufacturers   of   and    Dealers   in 

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PIPE,    RIBBON   AND    TAPE    LEAD,    GLAZIERS'   LEAD,    LANTERN- 
LEAD,    MONUMENTAL   LEAD   (for  pointing  monuments,  stone  walls, 
etc.),  LEAD   WIRE,  CAR  SEALS  AND  WIRES,  LEAD  TRAPS 
AND   BENDS,   SOLDER,    BABBITT  AND    BOX    METALS, 
WHITE   LEAD  (dry  and  ground  in  oil)    RED  LEAD  AND 
LITHARGE     (for  rubber   manufacturers,    potters,  glass 
makers,  etc.),   PIG    LEAD,    PIG    TIN,    COPPER 
AND    IRON   PUMPS,    IRON   AND    STEEL 
SINKS,    Etc.,    Etc. 


Electric  Cables  and  Wires  covered  with  Lead,  by  our  patent  process, 
without  injury  to  the  most  delicate  insulation. 


Correspondence  with  Water-  IVorks  and.  Ackers  solicited. 


THE    PRINCIPLES 

OF 


VENTILA  TION  AND  HEA  TING 

AND 

THEIR  PRACTICAL  APPLICATION. 


BY 

JOHN  S.  BILLINGS,    M.  D.,   LL.D.   (Edinb.), 
Surgeon   U.  S.  Army. 


PROFUSELY  ILLUSTRATED. 


This  interesting  and  valuable  series  of 
papers,  originally  published  in  THE  SANI- 
TARY ENGINEER,  have  been  re-arranged 
and  re- written,  with  the  addition  cf  new 
matter. 

The  volume  is  published  in  response  to 
the  general  demand  that  these  important 
papers  should  be  issued  in  a  more  con- 
venient and  permanent  form,  and  also 
because  almost  all  the  reliable  literature 
on  this  subject  has  been  furnished  by 
English  Authors,  and  written  with  refer- 
ence to  tke  climate  of  England,  which  is 
more  uniform  and  has  a  higher  proportion 
of  moisture.  The  need  of  a  book  based 
upon  the  conditions  of  the  American  cli- 
mate is  therefore  apparent. 

The  following  will  indicate  the  charac- 
ter of  the  subject-matter : 

Expense  of  Ventilation — Difference  Be- 
tween "Perfect  "  and  Ordinary  Ventila- 
tion— Relations  of  Carbonic  Acid  to  the 
Subject — Methods  of  Testing  Ventilation. 

Heat,  and  some  of  the  Laws  which 
govern  its  Production  and  Communication 
— Movementsof  Heated  Air — Movements 
of  Air  in  Flues — Shapes  and  Sizes  of 
Flues  and  Chimneys. 

Amount  of  Air-Supply  Required — 
Cubic  Space. 

Methods  of  Heating:  Stoves,  Furnaces, 
Fire-Places,  Steam,  and  Hot-water. 

Scheduling  for  Ventilation  Plans — 
Position  of  Flues  and  Registers — Means 


of  Removing  Dust — Moisture,  and  Plans 
for  Supplying  It. 

Patent  Systems  of  Ventilation  and 
Heating — The  Ruttan  System  —  Fire- 
Places — Stoves. 

Chimney-Caps — Ventilators  — Cowls — 
Syphons — Forms  of  Inlets. 

Ventilation  of  Halls  of  Audience — 
Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church — The 
Houses  of  Parliament — The  Hall  of  the 
House  of  Representatives. 

Theatres — The  Grand  Opera-House  at 
Vienna — The  Opera-House  at  Frankfort- 
on-the-Main — The  Metropolitan  Opera- 
House,  New  York — The  Madison  Square 
Theatre,  New  York  —  The  Criterion 
Theatre,  London  —  The  Academy  of 
Music,  Baltimore. 

Schools. 

Ventilation  of  Hospitals — St.  Peters- 
burgh  Hospital — Hospitals  for  Conta- 
gious Diseases — The  Barnes  Hospital — 
The  New  York  Hospital— The  Johns 
Hopkins  Hospital. 

Forced  Ventilation — Aspirating-Shafts 
— Gas-Jets — Steam  Heat  for  Aspiration — 
Prof.  Trowbridge's  Formulae — Application 
in  the  Library  Building  of  Columbia  Col- 
lege— Ventilating-Fans —  Mixing-Valves. 

The  book  is  free  from  unnecessary 
technicalities  and  is  not  burdened  with 
scientific  formulae. 

It  is  invaluable  to  Architects,  Physi- 
cians, Builders,  Plumbers,  and  those  who 
contemplate  building  or  remodeling  their 
houses. 


SOLD  BY  ALL  BOOKSELLERS. 
Large  8vo.     Handsomely  Bound  in  Cloth.     Price  $3.00,  Postage  Paid. 


Address, 


BOOK  DEPARTMENT, 
THE  ENGINEERING  AND  BUILDING  RECORD, 


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OBTAINABLE  AT  LONDON  OFFICE,  92  AND  93  FLEET  STREET,  FOR  15  SHILLINGS. 


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4  'A  merican    o  anitary    Engineering. 


BY  EDWARD  S.   PHILBRICK,  C.   E. 


Fully  Illustrated  with  thitty-two  Figures  and  Plans  of  Sewers  and  Reiver- Appliances, 
Ventilating  and  House-Draining  Apparatus,  etc. 

AMERICAN  SANITARY  ENGINEERING,  by  Edward,  S.  Philbrick,  C.  E.,  is  written 
by  a  gentleman  of  great  experience  in  planning  sanitary  works,  and  is  especially 
adapted  to  the  difficulties  met  with  in  constructing  such  works  in  climates  of  greatly 
varying  temperatures.  It  contains  a  very  careful  summary,  in  brief  compass,  of  the 
principles  of  city,  suburban,  and  household  sanitation.  The  subject  of  which  it 
treats  is  generally  recognized  to  be  of  steadily  growing  interest  and  importance,  not 
only  to  the  architect,  engineer,  and  builder,  but  also  to  the  general  reader  and  house- 
holder, who  has  a  vital  concern  in  understanding  the  principles  which  secure  health  in 
his  home.  In  this  book  has  been  presented  for  the  first  time  in  this  country  a  resume 
of  the  entire  subject  in  a  clear  and  convenient  form  for  professional  and  non-profes- 
sional men.  Its  value  was  promptly  recognized  and  testified  to  by  the  public  press, 
some  of  the  notices  of  which  we  quote  : 

OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


The  great  interests  of  health  and  life,  the  dan- 
gers which  threaten  both,  and  the  means  of  pre- 
serving the  one  and  prolonging  the  other,  are 
treated  in  these  lectures  in  a  manner  to  attract 
public  attention.  There  are  no  subjects  of  house- 
hold or  municipal  economy  more  pressing  or  im- 
portant than  the  ventilation  and  drainage  of 
houses,  the  construction  and  ventilation  of  sewers, 
the  drainage  of  towns,  and  other  provisions  for 
the  sanitary  interests  of  crowded  cities  and 
villages ;  and  Mr.  Philbrick's  experience  as  an 
engineer  and  an  expert  on  many  of  these  ques- 
tions especially  qualifies  him  to  treat  them 
intelligently.  Every  householder  and  every 
builder  will  find  in  this  volume  suggestions  of 
great  value.—  Boston  Daily  Advertiser. 

A  dozen  lectures  covering  in  a  peculiarly  sug- 
gestive and  practical  manner  the  subjects  of 
ventilation,  house  and  town  drainage,  sewerage, 
and  the  like.  The  matter  is  presented  in  a  way 
well  calculated  to  command  attention  from  home- 
makers  as  well  as  house-builders  and  sanitary 
engineers.  The  methods  and  appliances  recom- 
mended have  been  chosen  for  their  fitness  to  meet 
the  conditions  of  our  climate,  our  modes  of  life, 
and  more  obvious  sanitary  needs. — Scientific 
American. 

A  useful  contribution  to  the  common-sense  lit- 
erature of  the  day,  and  one  which  largely  con- 
cerns the  dwellers  in  our  great  municipalities, 
which  are  frequently  managed  on  the  reverse  of 
sanitary  principles. —  The  Evening  Mail. 

The  Sanitary  Engineer  has  just  issued  a  little 
volume  on  the  subject  that  will  no  doubt  prove 
of  interest  to  the  people  of  all  our  large  cities.  It 
is  a  compilation  of  twelve  lectures  delivered  be- 
fore the  School  of  Industrial  Science  _at  the 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology  in  1880, 
and  contains  many  valuable  hints  that  builders 
would  do  well  to  take  advantage  of. — Neiu  York 
Herald. 

Bound  in  cloth,  $2.00.         Postage  paid. 

THE  ENGINEERING  AND  BUILDING  RECORD, 

No.  277  Pearl  Street,  New  York. 
Obtainable  at  London  Office.  Q2  and  93  Fleet  Street,  for  TOJ. 


This  book  consists  of  a  series  of  lectures  deliv- 
I  ered  at  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technol- 
ogy, in  Boston.  We  are  glad  that  the  interest 
they  awakened  has  led  to  their  present  publica- 
tion in  connected  form.  Not  merely  sanitary 
engineers,  but  all  householders  and  dwellers  in 
houses  who  are  concerned  with  the  vital  questions 
of  ventilation  and  sewerage,  will  welcome  this 
suggestive  and  instructive  volume.  Men  do  not 
wish  to  be  left  at  the  mercy  of  builders  and 
plumbers  ;  yet  too  of  ten  they  are  helpless  victims, 
because  they  do  not  know  where  to  go  for  com- 
petent and  disinterested  opinions  concerning 
rival  methods  and  devices.  The  literature  of  the 
subject  consists  largely  in  puffs  of  patent  con- 
trivances, proceeding  from  their  inventors  or 
vendors.  Mr.  Philbrick's  opinions  are  free  from 
this  ground  of  suspicion,  and  are,  moreover,  based 
upon  the  condition  of  American  society,  which 
is  not  always  the  case  with  those  of  foreign 
authors. — Engineering  and  Mining}  xrnal. 

The  Lectures  on  American  Sanitary  Engi- 
neering, recently  delivered  by  Edward  S.  Phil- 
brick  before  ihe  School  of  Industrial  Science  at 
the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  and 
printed  in  part  in  the  Sanitary  Engineer  and 
the  American  Architect,  have  been  published  in 
a  slim  octavo  volume  from  the  office  of  the 
Sanitary  Engineer,  New  York,  with  thirty  illus- 
trations. These  lectures  furnish  the  reader,  pro- 
fessional or  unprofessional,  with  a  very  thorough 
and  intelligent  d'scussion  of  a  very  important 
subject. — Boston  Journal. 

The  ventilation  of  buildings,  the  drainage  of 
towns,  and  systems  of  sewerage  receive  much 
careful  and  thoughtful  attention.  Contains 
much  valuable  information,  and  should  be  in  the 
hands  of  every  householder.— American  Ma- 
chinist. 


Southwark  Foundry  &  Machine  Co., 

Washington  Avenue  and  Fifth  Street, 


PHILADELPHIA,    PENN. 


ENGINEERS,  MACHINISTS  AND  BOILER  MAKERS 

SOLE  MAKERS  OF 

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ALSO  MANUFACTURERS  OF 

COMPOUND  CONDENSING  DUPLEX  PUMPING  ENGINES, 

HYDRAULIC    PRESSURE   PUMPS, 

CENTRIFUGAL  PUMPS,  BOILERS  AND  TANKS, 

BLOWING  ENGINES,  STEAM  HAMMERS, 

REVERSING  ENGINES,  VERTICAL  ENGINES, 

STEAM  AND  HYDRAULIC  CRANES,  ETC. 


INQUIRIES    SOLICITED. 


THE 
WORTHINGTON 

HIGH-DUTY 
PUMPING-ENGINE 

For  Water-Works  Supply  of  Cities  and  Towns 
STAND-PIPE,  RESERVOIR  OR  DIRECT  PUMPING  SYSTEM 


OVER  1OO,OOO,OOO  DUTY  GUARANTEED 


THE  WORTHINGTON    PUMPING  -  ENGINES    now  in    use    are    supplying  over 

Four    Hundred   Cities   and    Towns   with    water,    and   have   an 

aggregate    daily   pumping    capacity   of   more    than 

FOURTEEN    HUNDRED    MILLION    GALLONS 


.  In    Illustrated    Pamphlet    Fully    Descriptive    of   the     Worthington     Steam 
Pumping-Engine   will  be    Sent  on   Application 


HENRY    R.    WORTHINGTON 

NEW   YORK 
Boston         Philadelphia        Chicago        St.  Louis       San  Francisco 


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Jtofft?  *'-  JnTf  '  :3f""^?^* 


